In 1851 he made his debut at the Paris Salon and, while he tried to stay in the mainstream, his art was heralded by those who were looking for a change to more realism.
In 1852 he married Marie-Isaure (d. 1860), the daughter of the director of the Brussels Observatory, and moved to Antwerp where he lived from 1852 to 1856; it was during this period that his fortunes began to improve.
In 1856 he and his family moved to Brussels where he became a prolific artist, specializing in scenes along the Scheldt. He exhibited a number of works at the Exposition Universelelle of 1867 and the critic Burger-Thoré described him as one of the greatest marine painters of the time.
In 1868 he became a member of the Société Libre des Beaux-Arts, a society founded on 1 March 1868 to help promote the works of artists who were interested in their individual interpretations of nature. He was a frequent exhibitor at the many exhibition halls in Europe and exhibited many pieces at the Paris Salon.
Overview of his workEdit
He was one of the most esteemed marine painters of his time, and early in his career he substituted a sincere study of nature for the extravagant and artificial conventionality of most of his predecessors. He painted the peaceful life of rivers, the poetry of wide estuaries, the regulated stir of roadsteads and ports. And while he thus broke away from old traditions he also threw off the trammels imposed on him by his master, the marine painter Théodore Gudin (1802–1880). Endeavouring only to give truthful expression to the nature that delighted his eyes, he sought to render the limpid salt atmosphere, the weight of waters, the transparency of moist horizons, the gem-like sparkle of the sky.[1]
A Fleming in his feeling for colour, he set his palette with clean strong hues, and their powerful harmonies were in striking contrast with the rusty, smoky tones then in favour. If he was not a "luminist" in the modern use of the word, he deserves at any rate to be classed with the founders of the modern naturalistic school. This conscientious and healthy interpretation, to which the artist remained faithful, without any important change, to the end of an unusually long and laborious career, attracted those minds which aspired to be bold, and won over those which were moderate. Clays soon took his place among the most famous Belgian painters of his generation, and his pictures, sold at high prices, are to be seen in most public and private galleries.[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Maus, Octave (1911). "Clays, Paul Jean". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 474.
Further readingEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul-Jean Clays.
P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, pp. 101–103.
N. Hostyn, Paul-Jean Clays, in : Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, 9, Brussels, 1981.
August 27, 2023
paul, jean, clays, november, 1819, february, 1900, belgian, artist, known, marine, paintings, born, 1819, november, 1819brugesdied10, february, 1900, 1900, aged, brusselsnationalitybelgianknown, formarine, paintingbelgian, french, warships, during, nuñez, inci. Paul Jean Clays 27 November 1819 10 February 1900 was a Belgian artist known for his marine paintings Paul Jean ClaysBorn 1819 11 27 27 November 1819BrugesDied10 February 1900 1900 02 10 aged 80 BrusselsNationalityBelgianKnown forMarine PaintingBelgian and French warships during the Rio Nunez Incident by Paul Jean ClaysThe Scheldt Estuary by Paul Jean Clays Contents 1 Biography 2 Overview of his work 3 Works 4 References 5 Further readingBiography EditIn 1851 he made his debut at the Paris Salon and while he tried to stay in the mainstream his art was heralded by those who were looking for a change to more realism In 1852 he married Marie Isaure d 1860 the daughter of the director of the Brussels Observatory and moved to Antwerp where he lived from 1852 to 1856 it was during this period that his fortunes began to improve In 1856 he and his family moved to Brussels where he became a prolific artist specializing in scenes along the Scheldt He exhibited a number of works at the Exposition Universelelle of 1867 and the critic Burger Thore described him as one of the greatest marine painters of the time In 1868 he became a member of the Societe Libre des Beaux Arts a society founded on 1 March 1868 to help promote the works of artists who were interested in their individual interpretations of nature He was a frequent exhibitor at the many exhibition halls in Europe and exhibited many pieces at the Paris Salon Overview of his work EditHe was one of the most esteemed marine painters of his time and early in his career he substituted a sincere study of nature for the extravagant and artificial conventionality of most of his predecessors He painted the peaceful life of rivers the poetry of wide estuaries the regulated stir of roadsteads and ports And while he thus broke away from old traditions he also threw off the trammels imposed on him by his master the marine painter Theodore Gudin 1802 1880 Endeavouring only to give truthful expression to the nature that delighted his eyes he sought to render the limpid salt atmosphere the weight of waters the transparency of moist horizons the gem like sparkle of the sky 1 A Fleming in his feeling for colour he set his palette with clean strong hues and their powerful harmonies were in striking contrast with the rusty smoky tones then in favour If he was not a luminist in the modern use of the word he deserves at any rate to be classed with the founders of the modern naturalistic school This conscientious and healthy interpretation to which the artist remained faithful without any important change to the end of an unusually long and laborious career attracted those minds which aspired to be bold and won over those which were moderate Clays soon took his place among the most famous Belgian painters of his generation and his pictures sold at high prices are to be seen in most public and private galleries 1 Works EditWe may mention among others The Beach at Ault Boats in a Dutch Port and Dutch Boats in the Flushing Roads the last in the National Gallery London In the Brussels gallery are The Port of Antwerp Coast near Ostend and a Calm on the Scheldt in the Antwerp museum The Meuse at Dordrecht in the Pinakothek at Munich The Open North Sea in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York The Festival of the Freedom of the Scheldt at Antwerp in 1863 in the palace of the king of the Belgians Arrival of Queen Victoria at Ostend in 1857 in the Bruges academy Port of Feirugudo Portugal Clays was a member of several Academies Belgian and foreign and of the Order of Leopold Belgium the Legion of Honour etc See Camille Lemonnier Histoire des Beaux Arts Brussels 1887 1 References Edit a b c Maus 1911 p 474 Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Maus Octave 1911 Clays Paul Jean In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 6 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 474 Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Jean Clays P amp V Berko Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 amp 1875 Knokke 1981 pp 101 103 N Hostyn Paul Jean Clays in Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek 9 Brussels 1981 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paul Jean Clays amp oldid 1155375284, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
