Julien Dupre

{"Id":113,"Name":"Julien Dupre","Biography":"\u003Ccenter\u003Eby Howard L. Rehs\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.rehsgalleries.com\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERehs Galleries, Inc., New York City\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/center\u003EWorking during the last half of the 19th century, Julien Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; was an artist, considered by most, to be one of the leading exponents of the second generation of Realist painters; a group that also includes Leon Lhermitte, Jules Bastien-Lepage and Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret. Like J.F. Millet and J. Breton, before them, these artists devoted their artistic careers to the depiction of the toils of the French peasant - often seen hard at work in the fields. As Hollister Sturges states in \u003Ci\u003EJules Breton and the French Rural Tradition\u003C/i\u003E (1982, Joslyn Art Museum):\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0022Salon critics rightly perceived Julien Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; as Breton\u0027s closest follower. Through idealization of form, he invested his peasant women with a heroic aura, though unlike his predecessor, his figures are usually engaged in vigorous action. His landscapes, with their cloudy skies and varied motifs, are also much more active. Their high key color and spontaneous brushwork have a vivacity and freshness that distinguishes them from the somber calm of Breton\u0027s scenes.\u0022\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EDupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12;\u0027s most enduring and powerful image is that of a single, Herculean, female, positioned dramatically and elegantly in the foreground of the painting, pitching hay. His finely modeled figures pay tribute to his academic training, as well as his study of the works of Breton and Bouguereau; while his freer handling of the background areas, at times done with a palette knife, shows the influence of the Impressionists.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EDupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; received his artistic training in the academic studios of Isidore Pils, Desire-Francois Laug\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12;e and Henri Lehmann. He exhibited his first painting at the Paris Salon in 1876 and thereafter, became a regular exhibitor until his death in 1910. In 1880 he was awarded a third-class medal for \u003Ci\u003EFaucheurs de Luzerne\u003C/i\u003E and in 1881 he received a second-class medal for his \u003Ci\u003ELa Recolte des Foins\u003C/i\u003E. He was honored with a gold medal at the Paris Fair of 1889 and in 1892 was awarded the Legion of Honor. His work was sought after internationally and he found a good market in the United States. In 1891 Marion H. Speilman, in his article entitled \u0022The White Cow\u0022 (\u003Ci\u003EThe Magazine of Art\u003C/i\u003E, 1891, Vol. 14, p. 415), describes Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; as:\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0022... one of the most rising artists of the French School. He is individual in his work, accurate as an observer, earnest as a painter, healthy in his instincts and intensely artistic in his impressions and translations of them... he is always one of the attractions at the Salon.\u0022\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAcknowledging his mastery at portraying both animals and humans powerfully, yet gracefully, one cannot help but pay tribute to his immense talent in being able to re-create nature\u0027s light on canvas - a feat that many have attempted but few have succeeded in accomplishing. Whether it is the light filtering through a group of trees onto the figures and animals below or the warm effulgent sun bathing the lush French countryside, Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; is always true to nature.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ESpeilman goes on to remark that: \u0022In \u003Ci\u003EThe White Cow\u003C/i\u003E which was amongst the finest works in last year\u0027s Salon, several of M. Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12;\u0027s merits as a painter are exemplified. The cow - taking a patient and intelligent interest in the operation of milking - is superbly drawn, and her expression admirably rendered. The light and shade, the balance of composition, and the rendering and disposition of the figures combine in this picture to produce a canvas which pleases the spectator the more he examines it.\u0022\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EWorks in public collections (partial listing):\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHaying Scene\u003C/i\u003E (1884) - St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Haymakers\u003C/i\u003E (1886) - Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EReturn From the Fields\u003C/i\u003E (n.d.) - Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EIn Pasture\u003C/i\u003E (1882) - Washington University Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHaying Scene\u003C/i\u003E (1882) - Washington University Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EYoung Woman Watering Cattle\u003C/i\u003E - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHaymaking\u003C/i\u003E (1892) - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChildren Feeding Geese\u003C/i\u003E (1881) - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EPeasant Girl with Sheep\u003C/i\u003E - The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMilking Time\u003C/i\u003E - The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EWomen in the Fields\u003C/i\u003E - Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Young Shepherdess\u003C/i\u003E - San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003EIn the Pasture (1883)\u003C/i\u003E - University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, KY.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ci\u003ELe Ballon (1886)\u003C/i\u003E - Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery, Reading, PA.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ETo learn more about the upcoming Julien Dupr\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; catalogue raisonn\u0026iuml;\u0026iquest;\u0026frac12; visit this address: \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.juliendupre.com\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttp://www.juliendupre.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E[This essay is copyrighted by Rehs Galleries, Inc. and may not be reproduced or transmitted without written permission from Rehs Galleries, Inc.]\u003Cp\u003E","BiographicalImageUrl":null,"Awards":null,"HasAlbums":false,"HasPortraits":true,"HasRelationships":true,"HasArticles":false,"HasDepictedPlaces":false,"HasLetters":true,"HasLibraryItems":false,"HasProducts":false,"HasSignatures":false,"HasVideos":false,"HasMapLocations":true,"TotalArtworks":39}