Léon Bonvin, Self-portrait, 19 January 1866Léon Bonvin - Still Life on Kitchen Table with Celery, Parsley, Bowl, and Cruets, watercolor with graphite underdrawing, pen and iron gall ink, and gum varnish on paper
Bonvin was born in Vaugirard (at the time a municipality on the outskirts of Paris, today part of the city) in humble circumstances. He was the son of a constable and a seamstress who owned a poor guinguette. He had numerous siblings and lived in a barren plain; the household money was scarce.
As a young boy he began making small charcoal sketches, and gradually ink drawings. His older step brother François Bonvin encouraged him to continue and provided him with paints and the advice to carefully study the old masters of the Dutch Golden Age.
In 1861 Bonvin married, soon had children, and worked as an innkeeper. The young couple struggled; the inn lost money; anguish set in. Yet painting in the stillness of early morning, at dusk or at night, Bonvin was able to create numerous genre paintings echoing the manner of Jean Siméon Chardin, meticulous still life studied with the precision of a botanist and subtle landscapes capturing fleeting atmospheric effects and solitude. These were mostly fragile watercolors for affordability reasons, oil paints being more expensive.
He approached gallerists on rue Laffitte and rue du Bac, but he made few sales of his watercolors. In January 1866, Bonvin traveled to Paris again to offer his watercolors to a dealer, who rejected them as too dark. Desperate, he hung himself the next day in the forest, on January 30, 1866, and was discovered a few days later; he was 31 years of age.[3]
Léon Bonvin - Cook with Red Apron
Léon Bonvin - Basket of Grapes, Walnuts, and Knife
At the initiative of his step brother François, because of the dire circumstances in which his family was left, a special art sale of his works was organized to raise money, with artists donating their own works as well; these included Claude Monet, Henri Fantin-Latour, and Johan Barthold Jongkind, among many others "who must have been aware of the quality of Léon's art or knew his brother François Bonvin".[4]
The special sale took place at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on May 24, 1866.[5]
"What has been advanced here is that others recognized the significance of both artists at the time, although it was François who generated more discussion since he lived longer, completed oil paintings, and was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon.Léon Bonvin's watercolors capture a sense of the ineffable with a delicacy that belies the destitute circumstances of his daily life. Seeing just a few of his watercolors is spellbinding and haunting."
Among the collectors interested in Bonvin’s work, William T. Walters, father of Henry Walters, founder of the Walters Art Museum, who acquired some of Bonvin’s fragile works. His collection eventually comprised 56 watercolors and one, rare oil.[6] Today, it is the largest collection of Bonvin's work in existence.
^ abWeisberg, Gabriel P. (2016). "Léon Bonvin's Realism Revisited". Source: Notes in the History of Art. 36 (1): 38–48. doi:10.1086/691364. S2CID 194404387.
^(fr)Gallica, BnF, French archives in La Chronique des arts, 1866-04-29, page 134
^Museum, The Walters Art. "Near Paris: The Watercolors of Léon Bonvin".
^"Léon Bonvin". The Walters Art Museum · Works of Art.
^"Léon Bonvin - Bouquet of Small Chrysanthemums - The Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum.
^"Léon Bonvin (French, 1834 - 1866) (Getty Museum)". The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles.
^"Léon Bonvin | Landscape with a Farmhouse and a Peasant Wheeling a Barrow | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston | Buy Prints Online". 1000museums.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
léon, bonvin, charles, february, 1834, january, 1866, french, watercolor, artist, known, genre, painting, realist, still, life, delicate, melancholic, landscapes, self, portrait, january, 1866, still, life, kitchen, table, with, celery, parsley, bowl, cruets, . Charles Leon Bonvin February 28 1834 January 30 1866 was a French watercolor artist known for genre painting realist still life and delicate and melancholic landscapes Leon Bonvin Self portrait 19 January 1866Leon Bonvin Still Life on Kitchen Table with Celery Parsley Bowl and Cruets watercolor with graphite underdrawing pen and iron gall ink and gum varnish on paper Contents 1 Biography 2 Posterity 3 Collections 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksBiography editBonvin was born in Vaugirard at the time a municipality on the outskirts of Paris today part of the city in humble circumstances He was the son of a constable and a seamstress who owned a poor guinguette He had numerous siblings and lived in a barren plain the household money was scarce As a young boy he began making small charcoal sketches and gradually ink drawings His older step brother Francois Bonvin encouraged him to continue and provided him with paints and the advice to carefully study the old masters of the Dutch Golden Age He probably attended some of the free classes offered by l Ecole royale gratuite de dessin created by Bachelier 1 2 but was mostly self taught He also learned to play music on a harmonium In 1861 Bonvin married soon had children and worked as an innkeeper The young couple struggled the inn lost money anguish set in Yet painting in the stillness of early morning at dusk or at night Bonvin was able to create numerous genre paintings echoing the manner of Jean Simeon Chardin meticulous still life studied with the precision of a botanist and subtle landscapes capturing fleeting atmospheric effects and solitude These were mostly fragile watercolors for affordability reasons oil paints being more expensive He approached gallerists on rue Laffitte and rue du Bac but he made few sales of his watercolors In January 1866 Bonvin traveled to Paris again to offer his watercolors to a dealer who rejected them as too dark Desperate he hung himself the next day in the forest on January 30 1866 and was discovered a few days later he was 31 years of age 3 nbsp Leon Bonvin Cook with Red Apron nbsp Leon Bonvin Basket of Grapes Walnuts and Knife nbsp Leon Bonvin The Country Inn nbsp Leon Bonvin Bouquet of Small Chrysanthemums Metropolitan Museum of Art 1996 296Posterity editAt the initiative of his step brother Francois because of the dire circumstances in which his family was left a special art sale of his works was organized to raise money with artists donating their own works as well these included Claude Monet Henri Fantin Latour and Johan Barthold Jongkind among many others who must have been aware of the quality of Leon s art or knew his brother Francois Bonvin 4 The special sale took place at the Hotel Drouot in Paris on May 24 1866 5 Art historian Gabriel P Weisberg in Leon Bonvin s Realism revisited wrote 4 What has been advanced here is that others recognized the significance of both artists at the time although it was Francois who generated more discussion since he lived longer completed oil paintings and was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon Leon Bonvin s watercolors capture a sense of the ineffable with a delicacy that belies the destitute circumstances of his daily life Seeing just a few of his watercolors is spellbinding and haunting Among the collectors interested in Bonvin s work William T Walters father of Henry Walters founder of the Walters Art Museum who acquired some of Bonvin s fragile works His collection eventually comprised 56 watercolors and one rare oil 6 Today it is the largest collection of Bonvin s work in existence Collections editWalters Art Museum 7 Metropolitan Museum of Art 8 J Paul Getty Museum 9 Morgan Library amp Museum 10 Museum of Fine Arts Houston 11 Louvre 12 Musee du Luxembourg British Museum 13 Bibliography editGabriel P Weisberg William R Johnston The Drawings and Water Colors of Leon Bonvin Cleveland Museum of Art 02 01 1981 ISBN 9780910386623References edit BONVIN Leon 1834 1866 Painter watercolourist musician Benezit Dictionary of Artists oi doi 10 1093 benz 9780199773787 article b00022964 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help fr Bnf data Leon Bonvin Fallen stars ResearchGate a b Weisberg Gabriel P 2016 Leon Bonvin s Realism Revisited Source Notes in the History of Art 36 1 38 48 doi 10 1086 691364 S2CID 194404387 fr Gallica BnF French archives in La Chronique des arts 1866 04 29 page 134 Museum The Walters Art Near Paris The Watercolors of Leon Bonvin Leon Bonvin The Walters Art Museum Works of Art Leon Bonvin Bouquet of Small Chrysanthemums The Met The Metropolitan Museum of Art i e The Met Museum Leon Bonvin French 1834 1866 Getty Museum The J Paul Getty in Los Angeles Leon Bonvin 22 August 2014 Leon Bonvin Landscape with a Farmhouse and a Peasant Wheeling a Barrow Museum of Fine Arts Houston Buy Prints Online 1000museums com Retrieved 2017 09 14 Base Joconde search www culture gouv fr drawing British Museum The British Museum Retrieved 2022 09 08 External links editLeon Bonvin on Artnet Press release The Cleveland Museum of Art November 12 1980 on Archive org Resources from the Frick Art Reference LibraryPortals nbsp Biography nbsp Visual arts nbsp France Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leon Bonvin amp oldid 1124121348, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
