| This is the best information on painter Jules Bastien-Lepage that I can find so far. I draw this information from a chapter written by another artist and his friend, J. Alden Weir. The chapter appears in the book Modern French Masters (J. C. Van Dyke, ed.), published in 1979 by Century Co., New York. I've also acquired a book entitled Bastien Lepage: Masterpieces in Colour, by Fr. Crastre (trans. Frederic Taber Cooper, ed. M. Henry Roujon), copyright 1914 by Frederick A. Stokes Publishers, NY, which has 8 color plates of his works. I'll post more information from that book here asap. I'll keep searching for more info ... |
| Jules Bastien-Lepage was born in Damvillers,
France on November 1, 1848. Bastien's father grew grapes in a vineyard to
support the family. His grandfather also lived in the village; his garden
had fruit trees of apple, pear, and peach up against the high walls. Bastien
took an early liking to drawing, and his parents fostered his creativity by
buying prints of paintings for him to copy. By age 9 he was a very gifted
artist with pencil; he attended Verdun seminary and won every prize for drawing.
He decided that he wanted to be a great painter, and he was eventually sent
to Paris, where all students of art would start.
In Paris he supported himself by working as a postal clerk until he realized that he could not work as an artist and a clerk and quit the postal service. When he quit, he returned home for a short time, and then came to Paris to study with Cabanel. He worked with Cabanel until the summer of 1870. During his time there, he debuted his work in the Salon: a portrait of one of his friends. When the Franco-Prussian war broke out, Bastien fought when men were needed for the troops. Bastien was a man by this time, medium height and stout. After the war, he returned home to paint the villagers. In 1873 he painted his grandfather in the garden, and this painting later became a favorite for many art lovers for its true-to-life qualities. In 1873 he was also commissioned to paint the Prince of Wales. In 1874 Bastien began winning awards. He won a third-class medal for his painting of the museum of Verdun; the government subsequently bought it from him. In 1875, he won second class for a painting of Monsieur Simon Hayem. In 1875 as well, the Prix de Rome competition took place. Bastien entered his painting The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds. Bastien worried about this painting's chances of winning because, even though the event between angel and shepherd had occurred at night, Bastien had decided to paint the scene at dawn so the slight color of the items in the scene were visible. Bastien felt that nighttime carried with it "the unpaintable quality of darkness" (p. 228). Because of this change, Bastien took second prize and not first; the Academy insisted that he should have followed the true scene. Bastien was disturbed and disappointed by this ruling. In 1879, Bastien received the Legion of Honor cross for his painting of Madame Bernhardt. By 1880, Bastien had painted the amazing Joan of Arc (or Joan of Arc Hearing Voices), which was first exhibited in that year at the Salon in Paris and then in Ghent, Belgium. Bastien used an apple tree in his grandfather's garden as the model for the tree in the painting. He also used his family's barn to develop the cottage in the painting. Between 1880 and 1883 he traveled in Italy and enjoyed his voyage very much. But his health was starting to fail him by 1883. He passed away in 1884. After his death, a special exhibition of more than 200 of his pictures was formed at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1889 some of his best work was shown at the Paris Exposition. Although his work was honored, during his lifetime his art sold poorly. |
| Jules Bastien-Lepage was described as a man of honesty and sincerity. He was very assertive and positive. He showed a great enthusiasm for other art, especially Van Eyck's alterpiece at the Ghent cathedral. Bastien was very modest about his own work and his success. He has a deep love of nature. He had many friends and colleagues who loved him. It seems, however, that his strongest quality was that he was always determined to paint and live in his own way. He had great strength for his own beliefs despite the outcomes of those beliefs, as was demonstrated in his loss at the Prix de Rome. As Weir wrote, "he dared to dare" (p. 232). |
| Bastien made a call to painters to go back
to nature. He established "the cult of ‘nature as she is'" (p. 231).
Bastien wanted painting to return to the depiction of nature as it is without
preconception so that the art world could heal. He looked to the painters
of the 1400s, who reflected nature's truth. He was against anything academic
and decadent that changed truth's simplicity to some "mere expression of cleverness
and skill" (p. 231). His love of nature often brought him to paint out in
the fields or in the village square.
Bastien admired those who worked the land, and he eagerly captured the character and individuality of the worker. He tossed aside the beliefs of the time that the scene should be transformed into something beautiful and gentle, which to Bastien was a false representation. He made clear and specific observations abut life from a view that most painters did not take, and this made his work very unique. A number of painters after him took up this philosophy in what is called the plein-air movement. J. Alden Weir wrote this about Bastien's work: "He was uneven at times, and sometimes failed entirely; yet who but mediocre men do not make failures? He who dares and fails is often greater than he who enjoys popular renown" (p. 232). |
| Joan of Arc
(my favorite painting of all time!!)
Joan of Arc at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (here is the zoom shot) Jeff Patterson's analysis of Joan of Arc (very informative and well written!) Going to School at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums A project taken from Going to School Mower Sharpening his Scythe at the University of Michigan art site The Ripened Wheat at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art site Simon Hayem at the National Gallery of Art Earlier Art page at the Milwaukee Art Museum site, featuring Pere Jacques (The Wood Gatherer) Rodin's sculpture of Bastien at the LA County Museum of Art sculpture garden Bronze relief of Bastien by Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the Musee des Augustins site Artcyclopedia's entry on Bastien: Where to find his work Where to find Bastien at the Orsay Museum, Paris Vincent
Van Gogh letter to van Rappard in which he mentions JBL Friends of and Other Painters Influenced by Bastien-Lepage J. A. Weir page: His painting Flora and information on him. Marie Bashkirtseff (see his grave here) Places Where You Can Buy JBL Prints |
page last updated 9.14.05