Monday, October 18, 2021

Thoughts about Bastien-Lepage from Breton



Jules Bastien-Lepage, Portrait of my Grandfather, 1874

In his autobiography, Jules Breton said: "[Jules] Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884) will leave a lasting fame. This young artist, cut down in the flush of his promise, was a true investigator. How conscientious was his work! He made his debut with a masterpiece, the 'Portrait of my Grandfather.' Touching familiarity, simple and accurate drawing, admirable truth of tone, strong and fine harmony, just relation of the figure to the background—all are there."

2 comments:

Janet Oliver said...

What a thoughtful and deeply felt portrait.

Anonymous said...

Bastien-Lepage was highly regarded amongst his contemporaries for his treatment of different subject matter - as an example of this one can point to the work of Swiss/Danish painter, Bertha Wegmann, whose brilliant handling of lighting effects and brushwork in several of her portraits owes a great deal to Jules Bastien-Lepage.