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Lot Essay
As part of a large, artistic family descended from a Swiss Hugenot family from Neuchâtel, Eugène Girardet received his earliest artistic training from his father, the artist and engraver Paul Girardet. His uncles, Karl and Edouard, who had both visited Egypt, were commissioned by King Louis Philipe to create murals for Versailles to commemorate Napoleon’s victories over the Mameluks.
Eugène entered the studio of Jean Léon Gérôme to begin his formal training. By that time, Gérôme had established his reputation as the foremost French Orientalist painter, and no doubt this had an influence on the direction of Girardet’s artistic career.
In 1879, Girardet made the first of eight trips to Algeria. He preferred the southern towns of Biskra, Boghara and El Kantara and it was at Bou-Saada that he met the artist Etienne Dinet. Never a slavish imitator of the precise technique of his teacher Gérôme, Giradet was perhaps influenced by the broader brushstrokes of Dinet and was drawn to the effects of light in the bleached landscapes of the deserts rather than the interiors of houses and mosques in the cities.
From 1878 to 1880, Girardet exhibited his Orientalist paintings at the official Paris Salon, but thereafter he took part in the exhibitions of the Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, which was created to offer an alternative venue to avant garde artists who did not adhere strictly to the tenets of either Academic art or Impressionism. Other members were Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Eugène Carrière and Auguste Rodin.
Probably set in southern Algeria, A Passing Caravan captures the effect of the bright desert light on rock, sand, water and the human figure. It is a tour-de-force in the use of broad, yet controlled brushstrokes, a tightly controlled palette of blues, violets, greys and brown, and strong compositional elements. These bring the viewer slowly through the imposing and strikingly beautiful landscape united by the clear, hot light of the Algerian desert. The figure in the foreground is backlit by the sun. His hand is lifted to shade his eyes from the harsh effects of the sunlight, offering him a glimpse of the passing caravan in the middle ground which is dwarfed by the jagged peaks of the purple mountains that frame the composition. The caravan slowly lumbers away from the solitary figure on the shore of the river, slowly engulfed by the darkest shadows of the imposing rock formations.
Eugène entered the studio of Jean Léon Gérôme to begin his formal training. By that time, Gérôme had established his reputation as the foremost French Orientalist painter, and no doubt this had an influence on the direction of Girardet’s artistic career.
In 1879, Girardet made the first of eight trips to Algeria. He preferred the southern towns of Biskra, Boghara and El Kantara and it was at Bou-Saada that he met the artist Etienne Dinet. Never a slavish imitator of the precise technique of his teacher Gérôme, Giradet was perhaps influenced by the broader brushstrokes of Dinet and was drawn to the effects of light in the bleached landscapes of the deserts rather than the interiors of houses and mosques in the cities.
From 1878 to 1880, Girardet exhibited his Orientalist paintings at the official Paris Salon, but thereafter he took part in the exhibitions of the Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, which was created to offer an alternative venue to avant garde artists who did not adhere strictly to the tenets of either Academic art or Impressionism. Other members were Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Eugène Carrière and Auguste Rodin.
Probably set in southern Algeria, A Passing Caravan captures the effect of the bright desert light on rock, sand, water and the human figure. It is a tour-de-force in the use of broad, yet controlled brushstrokes, a tightly controlled palette of blues, violets, greys and brown, and strong compositional elements. These bring the viewer slowly through the imposing and strikingly beautiful landscape united by the clear, hot light of the Algerian desert. The figure in the foreground is backlit by the sun. His hand is lifted to shade his eyes from the harsh effects of the sunlight, offering him a glimpse of the passing caravan in the middle ground which is dwarfed by the jagged peaks of the purple mountains that frame the composition. The caravan slowly lumbers away from the solitary figure on the shore of the river, slowly engulfed by the darkest shadows of the imposing rock formations.