Jules Coignet
Encyclopedia
Jules Louis Philippe Coignet was born in Paris in 1798 and died there in 1860. He was a noted landscape painter
who had studied under Jean-Victor Bertin
. He travelled a good deal in his own country as well as elsewhere in Europe and the East, and produced a considerable number of views. A regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon
exhibitions, he was awarded a gold medal there in 1824 and was given state recognition by being made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1836.
. There are times too when his paintings have an atmospheric, almost Impressionist effect. One example is the coastal sunset in the Louvre; another is the pastel "Grey weather over the sea" (1848) in the Dijon
museum.
Following the 1824 exhibition in Paris of John Constable
's paintings, Coignet began painting outside in the forest of Fontainbleau and encouraged his students to do the same. One of his specialities was painting tree 'portraits', of which there are many examples, both as finished paintings and as sketches in oil paint. Two notable examples are the ancient oak, with a dolmen and meditating monk in the background, in the Quimper
museum and the dramatic "Oak tree and reeds" in the Musée Jean de la Fontaine at Château-Thierry. As a pioneer of open air painting (la peinture en plein air
), Coignet has been counted a member of the Barbizon school
, the artists associated with the village of Barbizon, where he had painted long before they settled there. In fact one of the minor members of this school, the genre painter Jean-Ferdinand Chaigneau, was a pupil of Coignet's.
In addition to producing many water-colours
, pastels and etchings, he wrote a book on landscape painting and published in 1825 a series of sixty Italian views. Among his other pupils were Léo Drouyn, the Belgian landscapist Auguste Böhm and the orientalist Charles-Théodore Frère.
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
who had studied under Jean-Victor Bertin
Jean-Victor Bertin
Jean-Victor Bertin was a French painter of historical landscapes, inspired by Italy and known for the minute detail of his classical style.-Life:...
. He travelled a good deal in his own country as well as elsewhere in Europe and the East, and produced a considerable number of views. A regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
exhibitions, he was awarded a gold medal there in 1824 and was given state recognition by being made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1836.
Paintings
As a painter, Coignet holds a middle place between the Idealists and the Realists, and his work is remarkable for the combination of vigour and delicacy in the effects of light and shade, for poetical feeling, for a firm brush, and occasionally for grandeur of conception. This is particularly evident in "The Ruins of the Temple of Paestum", now in Munich's Neue PinakothekNeue Pinakothek
The Neue Pinakothek is an art museum in Munich, Germany. Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th century and is one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century in the world...
. There are times too when his paintings have an atmospheric, almost Impressionist effect. One example is the coastal sunset in the Louvre; another is the pastel "Grey weather over the sea" (1848) in the Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
museum.
Following the 1824 exhibition in Paris of John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
's paintings, Coignet began painting outside in the forest of Fontainbleau and encouraged his students to do the same. One of his specialities was painting tree 'portraits', of which there are many examples, both as finished paintings and as sketches in oil paint. Two notable examples are the ancient oak, with a dolmen and meditating monk in the background, in the Quimper
Quimper
Quimper is a commune and capital of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Administration:Quimper is the prefecture of the Finistère department.-Geography:...
museum and the dramatic "Oak tree and reeds" in the Musée Jean de la Fontaine at Château-Thierry. As a pioneer of open air painting (la peinture en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
), Coignet has been counted a member of the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
, the artists associated with the village of Barbizon, where he had painted long before they settled there. In fact one of the minor members of this school, the genre painter Jean-Ferdinand Chaigneau, was a pupil of Coignet's.
In addition to producing many water-colours
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
, pastels and etchings, he wrote a book on landscape painting and published in 1825 a series of sixty Italian views. Among his other pupils were Léo Drouyn, the Belgian landscapist Auguste Böhm and the orientalist Charles-Théodore Frère.