Georges d'Espagnat

(French, 1870-1950)

Born in Melum, France on August 14, 1870, Georges d'Espagnat was a Post-Impressionist artist. His work has also been described as Fauve, Nabis and Impressionist. After moving to Paris at the age of 18 to study painting at the École des Beaux-Arts, he also studied independently at the Louvre Museum, copying works of the Old Masters. While in Paris, d'Espagnat met and was influenced by the most notable artists of the time. He also traveled to Italy to study the works of Titian and Tintoretto.

In 1891, d’Espagnat exhibited his work in the Salon des Refusés. The following year he exhibited four paintings at the Salon des Indépendants. His style depicted everyday life in Paris through female form, landscapes and still life. Using thick, additive brushstrokes, unnatural color, simplified form and painterly style, clear influences of his peers can be seen in his work, notably Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso, Pissaro and Chagall.

After his first solo exhibit in 1895, d’Espagnat showed at the Durand-Ruel Gallery for many years. In 1907 he participated in a group exhibition at the Marcel Bernheim Gallery with renowned Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists Bonnard, Cézanne, Matisse, Pissarro, Rouault, Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec. A 1926 exhibition at the same gallery included d’Espagnat along with Bonnard, Braque, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso and Signac.

Today, d’Espagnat’s works can be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, and the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.