Artist of the Day, June 26, 2023: Alfred Guillou, a French painter [#1837]

 Alfred Guillou (1844 - 1926) was a French painter of Breton heritage. His father was a fisherman and farmer who served as mayor of Concarneau for fifteen years. He received his first art lessons from the lithographer Théodore Le Monnier, who was visiting Concarneau. On his advice, Guillou moved to Paris in 1862, where he attended the Académie Suisse for a short time, then found a position in the workshop of Alexandre Cabanel. While there, he met Jules Bastien-Lepage, Fernand Cormon and Théophile Deyrolle, who he convinced to give up architecture and join him at Cabanel's.

He debuted at the Salon in 1868 with his Young Breton Fisherman. Three years later, he and his friend Deyrolle left Paris for Concarneau, with nothing more than they could carry on their backs. The following year, Deyrolle married Guillou's sister Suzanne, who was also a painter. Together, they created the Concarneau Art Colony, which benefitted from its proximity to Pont-Aven, where Paul Gauguin and his followers congregated. He also exhibited works at both the 1889 and 1900 Universal Exhibitions in Paris where he received silver medals.
Goodbye!

After his marriage to the daughter of the engraver Joseph Gabriel Tourny, he maintained a home in Montparnasse, but spent as much time as possible in his hometown. Following his father's death in 1887, he built a home and workshop there, became involved in local politics and joined the board of the Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper.

Over the years, the Colony attracted many artists who were either interested in maritime subjects or wanted to achieve a sort of primitivism; represented for them by the traditions of the Breton people, which had survived mostly intact from an earlier period. Among the better-known artists who spent time there were Peder Severin Krøyer, Charles Cottet, Jules Bastien-Lepage, Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, Amélie Lundahl, Cecilia Beaux and T. Alexander Harrison.

© 2023. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Alfred Guillou or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Autoportrait dans un intérieur
(Self-portrait in an interior)

Autoportrait
(Self-Portrait), circa 1879

Soif (Thirst) circa 1886

Arrivée du pardon de sainte Anne de Fouesnant à Concarneau
(Arrival of the Pardon of Saint Anne of Fouesnant in Concarneau) circa 1887

Adieu, circa 1892

Les Sardinières de Concarneau
(The Sardinières of Concarneau) circa 1896

Le port de Corncarneau
(The port of Concarneau) circa 1900

Bouquet du matin
(Morning Bouquet)

Dans l'Atelier
(In the workshop)

Femmes de pêcheurs de Pont Aven
(Fishermen's wives of Pont Aven)

Fille de pêcheur
(Fisherman girl)

Premiere communion
(First Communion)

Musicien de rue
(Street Musician)

Mère et sa fille, le retour de pêche à Concarneau
(Mother and her daughter, returning from fishing in Concarneau)

Mère et enfant au bord de la mer
(Mother and child near the edge of the sea)

Mariée de Concarneau et sa mère en recueillement au pied du calvaire
(ride of Concarneau and her mother in meditation at the foot of Calvary)

Le retour du pêcheur en famille
(The return of the family fisherman)

Le petit Navire
(The little ship)

La servante du Ministère
(The Maid of Ministère)

La ramasseuse de moules (The mussel gatherer)

La ramasseuse de goémon
(The Seaweed Gatherer)

La galante conversation du marin
(The gallant conversation of the sailor)

Jeune fille et l'oiseau
(Young Girl with Bird)

Jeune Fille de Concarneau
(Young Girl from Concarneau)

Vache devant les voiliers
(Cow in front of sailboats)

Une pêche fraîche
(A Fresh Catch)

Sans titre

Rêverie (dreamer)

Pêcheuse avec broche devant un bassin portuaire
(Fisher Girl with Spindle in Front of a Harbor Basin)

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