Paintings

Henri Charles Manguin

Henri Manguin was born in Paris on March 23, 1874 and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Like Henri Matisse and Charles Camoin, with whom he became close friends, he studied under Gustave Moreau. 

Like his companions, Manguin made copies of Renaissance art, which were bought by the State and placed in the Louvre. Manguin was very much influenced by Impressionism as seen in his use of bright pastel hues. 

Henri Manguin dropped out of school at an early age to devote himself entirely to painting. In 1894 Gustave Moreau took him into his studio, where Manguin enjoyed further training with Matisse and Marquet. In 1899 he married his favorite model, Jeanne Carette, and the couple had two sons over the next three years. Under the influence of Cézanne and van Gogh, Manguin's works became increasingly fresher in color. 

In 1902 he exhibited for the first time in the Salon des Indépendants and, after a stay in Saint-Tropez in 1905, his work found its appreciative climax in an exhibition at the Salon d'Automne. A year later he came into contact with Ambroise Vollard, who acquired a large collection of works by the painter. This is followed by trips with Marquet, among others, to Italy, Brittany and Normandy, where the Manguin ports are particularly fascinating. In 1909 he finally moved into a house in Neuilly-sur-Seine. In 1910 he had his first solo exhibition in the then well-known Galerie Druet in Paris. 

Manguin captures this moment in a very balanced, airy way. The picture is kept in light green and blue tones. He underlines the summer mood with bright yellow surfaces, which he mainly executes in the lower right part of the picture. This gives the landscape a lightness that is further supported by the light blue sky. Only a few dark brushstrokes give the composition a hold. The whole thing radiates a great calm and lets the viewer linger in the action. After staying in Switzerland (until 1919), the artist and his family returned to Neuilly-sur-Seine, later he lived in the Villa L'Oustalet in Saint-Tropez. In 1940 he took part in the Venice Biennale and finally died shortly after moving to Saint-Tropez in 1949.