Mulot-Durivage, Emilien

 

 

Impressionism, the partakers of the expositions:

Emilien Mulot-Durivage

(1838-1920)

a vanished partaker of the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition

 

Was Émilien Mulot-Durivage an impressionist?
Émilien Mulot-Durivage is almost vanished. There is not much information known and there are hardly pictures to be found. That makes it hard to answer this question. Fact is that Mulot-Durivage only joined the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition in 1874. If he had close contacts with other ‘impressionists’ I think there would be more known about him. So, I think that Mulot-Durivage hardly was part of the ‘impressionist’ art-movement.
When we look at the titles of the works that Mulot-Durivage exhibited, we see that he often rendered an indication of place. He just sometimes rendered an indication of season. In a review in 1898 he is praised for the effect of light  (aR6=iR40). When we look at his pictures he more than once rendered the effect of light and season. But he doesn’t use bluish or purplish shades. Sometimes he used juxtaposed brushstrokes (in the reflections in the water), but mostly his brushstroke is more rough. So, I would like to call Mulot-Durivage a landscapist who used elements of the impressionist painting style.

Émilien Mulot-Durivage only joined the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition:
At the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition Mulot-Durivage showed 2 works (catalogue numbers 113-114) (R2,p122). His work received little attention and remained unsold (aR1;R87;R90II).
The French WikiPedia site, citing Joconde, states that Mulot-Durivage also joined the 7th ‘impressionist’ exposition in 1882 (iR4;iR23) something that is affirmed by other sources (aR4=iR371;iR82). But, this is not confirmed by Moffett, Berson or other sources; anyway he was not in the catalogue (R2,p394;R90II,p283;iR1). So I think that Mulot-Durivage only joined the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition in 1874.
See link for a thematical overview his pictures. See link for an account.

Mulot-Durivage at the Salon and other exhibitions:
Mulot-Durivage was rejected at the Salon of 1875 and exhibited at the Salon des Refusés. He exhibited at the Salon (de la Société des Artistes Français) in 1882 + 87 + 90. In 1887 and 1890 it is noticed that he was a member or sociétaire de la Société des Artistes Français (iR1). Through the years Mulot-Durivage exhibited at several regional exhibitions in Le Havre (1870 +1893 +1896), Rouen (1884), Angers (1886), Fontainebleau (1887), at the Annuaire de la Normandie (1891) and in Pontoise (1898). In Angers Mulot-Durivage received  a ‘médaille de 2e classe’ (aR15=iR40). See link for a thematical overview his pictures. See link for an account.

Mulot-Durivage as an artist:
Mulot-Durivage is called an impressionist landscape painter (iR4). Walther calls Mulot-Durivage as a member of the ‘Société Anonyme des Artistes…’ (R3,p684). Moffett doesn’t confirm this (R2,p105). Some sources mention that Mulot-Durivage had contacts with Cézanne, Degas, Monet and Renoir (iR4;aR1;aR2). Wildenstein doesn’t confirm this for Monet (R22I,p472), nor for Cézanne (R181,p641). Nor have I found his name in sources on Degas and Renoir.
Mulot-Durivage mainly painted landscapes and especially river views. I think the quality of his works if mostly quite meager. When I look at the only figure painting I could find, I think that the painting of the face is rather bad.
I couldn’t find information about his private live. He more than once changed his address. The moving sale of 1890 could suggest that Mulot-Durivage possessed some richness, but also that he needed the money.

Mulot-Durivage chronological data:

  • 1838/03/09: Émilien Mulot-Durivage was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast in the Mont Saint-Michel bay in the Manche region (iR4;R3;aR1;iR1;iR69;R2;aR2;iR66;R87;R88)
  • Note: sometimes his name is rendered as ‘Emile Durivage’
  • Mulot-Durivage descends from an very old family of sailors in Granville, called Mulot sieur du Rivage = sire / lord of the shoreline (iR4). Contemporary marin commissioners were: René Aimable Mulot-Durivage (1801/06/17 – 1882/10/13) and his son René François Pierre (1856/03/22 – 1918/10/19) (aR3).
  • 1874: Mulot-Durivage lived at Rue Neuve-le-Berry, 13, Le Havre (R2,p122), nowadays Rue Emile Zola (aR4=iR371)
  • 1875: Mulot-Durivage lived at the Avenue Saint-Ouen, 34, Paris (iR1), this lies in Montmartre (iR9).
  • 1882: Mulot-Durivage lived at the Rue Saint-Jean, 28, Changis-Avon, near Fontainebleau. As his correspondence address he gave: M. Billault at the Boulevard Haussmans, 32bis in Paris. (iR1)
  • 1884/08/12: Mulot-Durivage still  lived at 28, Rue Saint-Jean, Changis-Avon (Seine-et-Marne) (aR10=iR40)
  • 1886: Mulot-Durivage exhibited in Angers (iR69;R87;R88), about 300km south-west of Paris .
  • 1887: he lived 23, avenue de Lyon, Nemours (Seine-et-Marne) (iR1), about 89km south-east of Paris and about 20km south of Changis-Avon (iR9); in 1889 he still lived here (aR10,p187=iR40), but in 1890 he lived at number 28 (iR1)
  • 1890/08/17: movement sale of M. Mulot-Durivage, artiste peintre à 95, Rue de Paris, Nemours, containing furniture, a painting of Géricault, etchings, chinese and japonese objects and more (aR5). I assume there were not many painters living in Nemours with the name Mulot-Durivage, so I assume it is our Émilien. On the other hand it is strange that the address changed so quickly from 28, Avenue de Lyon in April / May as indicated in the Salon catalogue, to 95, Rue de Paris. Maybe our Émilien had a studio at the Avenue de Lyon, which he rendered as correspondence address for the Salon.
  • 1893/08/03: Mulot-Durivage lived at 121, Rue de Pontoise, L’Isle-Adam (aR7=iR40)
  • 1896/10/01: Mulot-Durivage lived at Auvers-sur-Oise (aR8=iR40)
  • 1898/06/25: a Mulot-Durivage exhibited two works at the 4th Salon de Pontoise. Edouard Cyrval reviewed: ‘I said several times all the good I thought of the landscapes of Mr. Mulot-Durivage; I am glad to have to repeat myself: his “Maison du garde de l’Isle-Adam” (133) is a charming piece of naturalness and poetry, and his ‘Église de Valmondois” (134), in which the setting sun illuminates with a very oriental light, is of a striking effect’ (aR6=iR40). As our Émilien lived in 1893 closeby in L’Isle-Adam and in 1896 in Auvers-sur-Oise, I suppose that it was he who exhibited in 1898 in Pontoise.
  • Mulot-Durivage retired at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, on the west coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula, with his sister Azelma. This is about 90km north of his birthplace Granville (iR9). Here he became well-known for his landscape paintings of the nearby valley of the Ouve and of gardens (aR1;iR4;aR2).
  • 1920/09/11: Mulot-Durivage died in Saint-Saveur-le-Vicomte (iR4;aR1;iR66). Note: Walther (wrongly)  mentions he died in 1944 (R3,p136); Monneret leaves out the date of departure (R88).

 

Sources:
Émilien Mulot-Durivage is almost fully vanished. Some books on Impressionism don’t mention Mulot-Durivage at all (R4;R6;R9;R22;R86;R94;R95;R116;R181), including Adler (R89). Spies just renders 2 sentences (R16,p248). Rewald, like many other sources, just sums him up as one of the partakers of the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition (R1,p316). Even important web-sites like the English WikiPedia (iR3), archive.org (iR19), Joconde (iR23), the RKD (iR24), the BNF (iR26) don’t render any information. I could find just a little more than 10 pictures, none of them in books. My main sources are Moffett (1986=R2,p122), Walther (2013=R3,p684), Dayez / Adhémar (1974=R87,p246), Monneret (1978-81=R88I,p605); Berson (1996=R90II,p11), French Wikipedia (iR4), eclecticlight (aR1=iR35), gallica.bnf.fr (iR40), Bénézit (iR69) and the additional references (=aR, see below). For other general references (=R) see. For other references to internet sites (=iR) see. See links for practical hints and abbreviations and for the subscription of the paintings.

Additional references:

  1. Vanished French Impressionists 8 (an article on eclecticlight = iR35).
  2. www.wikimanche.fr (some info in French on Mulot Durivage who was an inhabitant of the Manche region, citing ‘Dictionnaire des personnages remarquables de la Manche‘)
  3. ecole.nav.traditions.free.fr (contemporary marin commissioners; maybe relatives of our Émilien)
  4. media.interencheres.com//270 (PDF of a sale 2017/01/01; with no.191 being a work of Mulot-Durivage: 1870-80ca, Sbr, Le Havre, le grand quai, 37×52; with additional info on Mulot-Durivage = iR371/iR87)
  5. gallica.bnf.fr//bpt6k4525891p (announcement of a movement sale 1890/08/17 of M. Mulot-Durivage in the L’Abeille de Fontainebleau = iR40)
  6. gallica.bnf.fr//bpt6k5199376p (review on the 4th Salon de Pontoise in ‘Le Progrès de Seine-et-Oise of 1898/06/25 = iR40)
  7. gallica.bnf.fr//bpt6k3215412 (catalogue of an exhibition in Le Havre 1893/08/03, including 2 works by Mulot-Durivage =iR40)
  8. gallica.bnf.fr//bpt6k3214129d (catalogue of an exhibition in Le Havre 1896/10/01, including 2 works by Mulot-Durivage =iR40
  9. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k7523570g (review in the Gil Blas of 1887/08/23 of the ‘Exposition de peinture de Fontainebleau’, including 1 work of Mulot-Durivage =iR40)
  10. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k1180626x (Catalogue of the 29th exposition Municipale in the Musée de Rouen, 1884/08/12, including 2 works of Mulot-Durivage = iR40)
  11. galllica.bnf.fr/bpt6k6441946p (in a document by Auguste Dalligne (Agenda de la curiosité des artistes et des amateurs) dated 1889 the address of Mulot-Durivage is given on page 187 = iR40)
  12. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k54538587 (in the 57th Annuaire de la Normandie 1891/01/01 a work of Mulot-Durivage is mentioned on page 470= iR40)
  13. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k56274012 (1876/01/01, Recueil des publications de la Société havraise d’études diverses, 41me & 42me Années, 1874 + 1875. Le Havre, 1876 (aR13,p411=iR40). A. Devaux in his ‘résumé des travaux de la 41me année 1874’ mentions among the landscapes a work of Mulot-Durivage exhibited in 1870)
  14. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k96863916 (In the chapter called ‘Les independents A-Z’ Théodore Véron mentions Mulot-Durivage in his 11e Annuaire, Dictionnaire Véron, Salon de 1885. Poitiers, 1885 (aR14,p709=iR40=R267)
  15. gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k3841729t (Le Petit courrier 1886/10/10 mentions that M. Mulot-Durivage received at the Exposition d’Angers a ‘médaille de 2e classe’; =iR40)
  16. cerca-trova.fr/3635 (renders a painting of Mulot-Durivage)
  17. x

 

 

Recommanded citation: “Émilien Mulot-Durivage, a vanished partaker of the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition in 1874. Last modified 2023/11/13.  https://www.impressionism.nl/mulot-durivage-emilien/”