circles of friends

 

 

Impressionism: an art-movement

Circles of friends

an overview

 

Introduction:
Impressionism can be seen as an art-movement. One of the ways to discern who belonged to this movement is looking at the interrelationships. So what circles of friends can we discern? Who were most active within these circles? Who connected these circles? On this page you’ll find an overview. The focus is on the partakers of the ‘impressionist’ expositions. , but we will also look at related artists. See also the places where they did meet together and where they painted together. See also how they portrayed each other and how they owned each others works.

 

The circle around Édouard Manet:

 

Degas and Rouart:
+ Tillot + Levert + Brandon + de Nittis
Edgar Degas and Henri Rouart were youth friends. They also fought in the same regiment during the Franco-Prussian war. They exhibited at the same 7 ‘impressionist’ expositions, in which they both were actively involved.
On Fridays Degas used to dine at the Rouarts (R92,p12), just like Levert, Colin and Tillot (R88I,p790).
Rouart and Degas also were befriended with Charles Tillot who joined 6 of the 8 ‘impressionist’ expositions (R92,p16;R3,p693+700;R88). From 1864-67 Rouart often painted with Tillot, Rousseau, Millet and Corot in Barbizon (aR6;R16,p297;R92,p128). In 1866 he painted with Léopold Levert in Bretagne (aR6), also returning the next years (R92,p129); probably this is the same Levert that exhibited 4x with the Impressionists. In September 1875 he painted with Cals in Honfleur (R92,p130;aR6). From 1893 till his death in 1912 Henri Rouart frequently stayed with a Mme Brandon in La Commanderie in Ballan-Miré, where he also decorated the hospice hall (R92,p138), which lies just south of Tours and about 250km south-west of Paris (iR9;aR6). Maybe she was the wife of Édouard Brandon, who also was his teacher.
Degas introduced the most people to the ‘impressionist’ expositions.
In 1874 Degas invited Brandon and Levert (R3,p401) and De Nittis (R3,p650+136,+138). Brandon (and probably this Levert) also were the teachers of Rouart, so wasn’t it more likely that he invited them? Three of the works Degas exhibited in 1874 were owned by Brandon. In the posthumous Rouart collection, there also was a portrait of Brandon made by Bouguereau in 1857 (iR13). Around 1867 Brandon admired 3 little paintings of de Nittis made in Naples and assisted to sell them to the art-dealer Goupil (R264,p403).
In 1877 Degas invited Maureau (R3,p199) and Tillot.
In 1879 Degas invited Marie Bracquemond, Cassatt, Forain and Zandomeneghi.
In 1880 Degas invited the two Raffaëlli’s, Vidal and Vignon (R2,p257+425; R5,p115).
In 1882

Pissarro, Cézanne, Guillaumin and Gauguin;
And: Béliard, Piette and Vignon;
The school of Pontoise
Pissarro, Cézanne and Guillaumin followed lessons at Academie Suisse (R3,p644)
Monet also followed lessons from 1860 till early 1861. Together with Pissarro, but not with Cézanne who joined April 1861 (R22,p25/6).
Béliard also followed lessons in 1860, together with Pissarro (iR4). So was Piette.

They later meet and paint together in Pontoise where Pissarro lived from 1866-83 (R3,p689). They are called the school of Pontoise; Béliard and Vignon were also part of it (R17,p178/9).

Guillaumin and Pissarro maintained a particularly close friendship (R17,p204).

Pissarro invited Béliard in 1874, Piette in 1877 and Gauguin in 1879 to join the ‘impressionist’ expositions (R3,p138+199+224).

Monet, Renoir and Sisley (and Bazille):
They followed lessons within the atelier of Gleyre (1862-64).
They painted together in Fontainebleau.
Monet and Renoir would paint together in 1869 in La Grénouillère.
Bazille would stay active within this circle until his death in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian war.
Monet moved to Argenteuil at the end of 1871 Renoir, Sisley, and Manet would often come and paint with him (note: not Caillebotte as some sources say).

Monet, Boudin, Cals (and Jongkind):
Probably in August 1858 (R51,p18) Monet met Boudin and started to paint en-plein-air.
Probably it was Monet who introduced his old inspirator Boudin to the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition in 1874.
It was Monet who invited Cals to the ‘impressionist’ expositions (R3,p652).

 

Renoir, Cordey, Franc-Lamy and Desboutin:
In 1877 Renoir would introduce Cordey and Franc Lamy to the third impressionist exposition (R3,p199). They and Goeneutte and later Desboutin formed a group that was inseparable (R82,p22-23 ;iR4). It’s remarkable that the first three painters were 13 or 14 younger than Renoir (R31,p211).  Georges Rivière (art-critic and his later biograph,R82), Lhote (a journalist), Gervex (a painter), Lestringuez (a civil servant) also were part of this group. They mingled in Renoirs studios at the Rue Saint-Georges, 35 (1873-82) and at the Rue Cortot (1875-6) and posed for him in his ‘Moulin de la Galette’ , ‘La balançoire’, ‘Under the arbor’, ’the artists studio’ (1876) and other paintings (R4,p161-6;R31,p211+297/8;R30,p100;R1,p384-6;R8,p246).

Camillie Pissarro, Lucien Pissarro, Schuffenecker, Seurat, Signac and Redon:
In 1884 Guillaumin, Redon, Schuffenecker, Seurat and Signac were co-founders of the Salon des Indépendants .
In 1886 (stimulated by Guillaumin) he invited his son Lucien Pissarro, Seurat and Signac. Guillaumin himself invited Redon and Schuffenecker (who is also befriended with Gauguin) (R2,p423/5+440).

 

Other smaller connections:

 

 

Sources:
For this page I used very different sources. See also the references in the main pages on the partakers of the ‘impressionist’ expositions. For the general references see . For the references to internet pages see.

 

Recommanded citation: Impressionism, an art-movement; circle of friends, an overview. Last modified 2024/01/21. https://www.impressionism.nl/circles-of-friends/

Note: additional info will be added.

Please be reluctant to quote from this webpage, which is under construction.
The information is incomplete and maybe partly incorrect.