In the history of art, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes is one of the names that keeps being returned to.
The record lists Pierre Puvis de Chavannes as French artist best known for his mural painting (1824–1898).
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was born at Lyon in 1824. His recorded nationality is France. He trained at Lycée Henri-IV.
The nineteenth century broke the academy's authority: independent exhibitions, dealers and the beginnings of modernism.
He worked as painter, photographer and visual artist.
His recorded movement is symbolism.
Among his best-known works are The Poor Fisherman, Young black boy with a sword and Jeunes Filles au bord de la mer. Looking is a skill, and the artists who last are those who taught their audience how to do it.
Recognition followed: Commander of the Legion of Honour.
That the work was made in France shaped it: artistic traditions, academies and the galleries that decide what is seen have never been evenly distributed.
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes died in 1898, aged 74. The work remains, hanging in collections that outlived both the artist and the market that first priced it.
Achievements
- Commander of the Legion of Honour
- Notable work: The Poor Fisherman
- Notable work: Young black boy with a sword
- Notable work: Jeunes Filles au bord de la mer
- Movement: Symbolism
