Alphonse Leon Quizet's Paintings in Montmartre

Alphonse Quizet was a pioneer to Modernism and an active member of the School of Montmartre. This group of artists wasn't an official school that exhibited together, but they learned from one another. In the early 20th century, Montmartre, France was the epicenter of the art world, and living there enabled Quizet to create works that have had a profound influence on art today. The Fauves, Nabis, Post-Impressionists, Cubists, and Surrealists all drew inspiration from Montmartre. Quizet never became a sole part of any of these movements, but you can see hints of the various style movements in his paintings.

Alphonse Quizet, Maison de Pantin, Mixed media/panel, c. Early 20th Century

Alphonse Quizet was born in Paris in 1885 and began his career as a draftsman for an architectural firm. This is where Quizet developed a keen eye for painting his architectural scenes. Quizet paintings are dominated by scenes of buildings which often times exhibit strong angles and almost exaggerated lines. These works would not have been possible if Quizet didn't have such a strong understanding of perspective. His paintings of buildings have excellent form and are always very balanced and true.

Quizet was exposed to extremely talented artists in Montmartre. One particular artist who Quizet grew a connection with was Maurice Utrillo who eventually became his protege. Quizet and Utrillo sold their works of art together and often times painted the same subject matter. In fact, Utrillo would even store some of his paintings at Quizet's home in Montmartre. Utrillo and Quizet paintings look extremely similar to one another and are often times mistaken for each other.

Maurice Urillo, La Rue Norvins a Montmartre, Oil/board, c. 1910

Quizet's paintings look very simplified in composition, but are very sophisticated in taste. The colors that he chooses to use in his works give off a unnerving sense of despair. The yellows, grays and off-whites never romanticize the scenes but create a sense of desolation, making them feel more alone. The deteriorating buildings and roads with sharp angles orchestrate a surreal feeling of emptiness. His urban scenes are often times busy with buildings, but rarely with people. There is little known about Quizet's personal life, however his pupil, Utrillo was very troubled. Perhaps Quizet may have used his works as a extension of his personality, like Utrillo did with his.

Alphonse Quizet received a number of awards and overall recognition while in Paris. He was made a member of the Salon d'Automne in 1926 and was named Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1931. Between 1907 and 1955, his work was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon Paris Moderne and the Salon des Tuilleries, and in addition to exhibiting in Sweden, Norway and Japan. Additionally in 1931, Quizet was awarded the Silver Medal at the International Exposition in Paris.

Quizet's paintings are in the collections of the Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, the Petit Palais, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Musée du Luxembourg; also at museums in Copenhagen, Saint-Etienne, Le Havre, Grenoble and Philadelphia. His works also grace the walls of numerous galleries and homes. Quizet's influence and style will surely make his works collectible for generations to come. MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. has been fortunate to have researched and appraised various Quizet works in the past and would be more than happy to assist you in doing the same for selects items in your collection.

Researched and written by Robert Snell

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.
Principal Appraiser: Farhad Radfar, ISA AM
307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works cited:
http://www.alonzakaim.com/?artist_id=215
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=10069629
http://www.alonzakaim.com/?artist_id=215

Vivian Maier Tribute, Part III

[1]

INNER-ENVIRONS OF THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHER

Susan Sontag relates the shifts in perception concerning the role of the photographer in the early part of the 20th century, stating, “By the 1920s the photographer had become a modern hero, like the aviator and the anthropologist—without necessarily having to leave home.”[2] Yet the street photographer of the 1950s and 1960s is a more complex beast—not quite moral arbiter or social advocate or photojournalist—rather the street photographer owned a personality planted firmly in the murk of ambiguity.

Julien Levy characterized seminal street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work as “amoral photography, equivocal, ambivalent, anti-plastic, accidental photography.”[3]

We can appreciate, in this sense, Maier’s tenderness and empathy evident in her portraits of children and minorities,

and at the same time her somewhat menacing, voyeuristic presence, as the encroaching shadow of her hat confronts a sleeping sunbather in rollers on a beach towel, for example.

Or the craggy lady in cat-eye glasses, face aghast at Maier’s brazen documentation, with Diary of a Housewife emblazoned on the placard behind her.

This and other images of Maier’s photo subjects jolted into the self-awareness that they are in fact photographic subjects seem reminiscent of the obviously irritated expressions of the couple on the hill in Robert Frank’s iconic photograph San Francisco, 1956:

Frank remarked on this photograph—his “favorite photograph of all”—“It is an invasion of people in their private lives and they were just looking at the view. So was I.”[4]

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Conversation between Colin Westerbeck, associate curator of photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, and Joel Meyerowitz, master street photographer:

Westerbeck: Winogrand seemed to be happiest when he confronted a wall of humanity surging down the street. He threw himself into it.

Meyerowitz: Yes! It’s like going into the sea and letting the waves break over you. You feel the power of the sea. On the street each successive wave brings a whole new cast of characters. You take wave after wave. You bathe in it…[5]

Joel Meyerowitz

The nature of street photography, with its emphasis on informality, speed, randomness and anonymity perhaps created an open invitation for the fleetingness and anonymity of street photographers themselves. Eloquently stated by Colin Westerbeck, “The evanescence of the image might be thought of as reflecting the anonymity of the photographer himself.”[6]

Clive Scott remarks that the “staccato, jotted style” of the street photograph reflects the very walking patterns of street life.[7] Not only did Maier learn English from the movies; it also seems fitting that Maier, with her abiding love for the cinema, produced street photography specifically—its blurs, speed, repetition and serial images are so much a part of the movie aesthetic.

THE EVOLUTION OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Cinema further influences contemporary photographers such as Jeff Wall. In an interview with Els Barents, Wall discusses cinema as a “performing picture”, commenting, “I think that cinematography is aesthetically more developed than the more spontaneous photographic aesthetic, the one identified with Cartier-Bresson, for example. The reliance on immediate spontaneity thins out the image, reduces the level at which the permanent dialectic between essence and appearance operates in it.”[8] One can witness Wall’s staged “decisive moment” in works such as Mimic and Milk.

Jeff Wall, Milk

Michael Fried cites two other artists who have envisioned again the medium of street photography—Beat Streuli

Beat Streuli, Bruxelles Midi

and Philip-Lorca diCorcia, who implemented a novel use of flashlights and camera/radio signals on the street to highlight certain passersby—his own sort of “theatrical lighting.”[9]

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Los Angeles

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Please visit our blog site again soon; next week, I will feature an interview with John Maloof, the marvelous excavator of the Maier treasure trove!

* * * *

The staff at MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. seeks to fully understand the arts in their particular cultural contexts and to analyze relationships between various artistic mediums and genres; in this way we can broaden our expertise as art appraisers. We are located just steps from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center; please do give us a ring to set up an appointment for a verbal evaluation of your most prized works of art.

Researched and written by Jessica Savitz

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.

Principal Appraiser: Farhad Radfar, ISA AM

307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308

Chicago, IL 60601

(312) 814-8510

Foot notes/Works cited:

Brougher, Kerry. Jeff Wall. Los Angeles; The Museum of Contemporary Art, 1997.

Ferguson, Russell. Open City: Street Photographs Since 1950, New York: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2001.

Fried, Michael. Why Photography Matters As Art As Never Before. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Meyerowitz, Joel and Westerbeck, Colin. Bystanders: A History of Street Photography. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994.

Scott, Clive. Street Photography from Atget to Cartier-Bresson. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007.

Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: The Noonday Press, 1973, 89-90.

John Maloof, from his blog: http://www.vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

http://www.artsjournal.com/man/2009/03/robert_frank_speaks_part_two.html

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[1] All Vivian Maier images from John Maloof’s blog http://www.vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

[2] Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: The Noonday Press, 1973, 89-90.

[3] Ferguson, Russell. Open City: Street Photographs Since 1950, New York: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2001, 10.

[4] http://www.artsjournal.com/man/2009/03/robert_frank_speaks_part_two.html

[5] Meyerowitz, Joel and Westerbeck, Colin. Bystanders: A History of Street Photography. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994. Preface, conversation.

[6] Meyerowitz 35.

[7] Scott, Clive. Street Photography from Atget to Cartier-Bresson. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007, 3.

[8] Brougher, Kerry. Jeff Wall. Los Angeles; The Museum of Contemporary Art, 1997, 35-6.

[9] Fried, Michael. Why Photography Matters As Art As Never Before. New Haven: Yale University Press, 252-254.

Jules Herve's French Impressionism

Jules Herve was a French artist who simply wanted people to see beauty in the world through his perspective. He wasn't an artist who used his paintings to promote an ideology or conception. The most important aspect to Herve was to merely create an aesthetically beautiful work of art. Herve's use of color, subject matter, atmosphere and energy were all essential to his development as a French Impressionist.

Since an early age, Jules Herve always knew that he wanted to be an artist. Herve used this passion to enroll in evening art classes while he was young. Once Herve moved to Paris he went to the School of Decorative Arts where he began to exhibit in the Paris Salons. Eventually, Herve won numerous medals for his paintings in Paris; a silver medal at the Salon des Artistes Francais, a gold medal for his work related to the traveling scholarship he received from the French government, and prizes for both the Belle Table and Leguay. All these accolades led to his eventual election as Vice President to the Salon des Artistes Francais and a member of the jury to the Society of French Artists. Jules Herve was able to do this without changing his style to outside pressures and staying true to himself as an artist.

When looking at Herve's works, it is evident that modern Paris was his muse for his many Parisian streetscapes, waterways, gardens and interiors. Surrounded by magnificent architecture and lively Parisian streets, Jules Herve was able to capture this beauty through his paintings. His flowing brushstrokes would parallel Paris' energy and grandeur. Herve's Parisian scenes look alive with his brilliant use of radiant light and color. Like the classic French Impressionists, Herve would use color to harmonize his paintings. The colors would create the atmosphere in his works, which would then magnify the pace of movement. Sometimes his brushstrokes were more flowing and energized to enhance the vibrant mood of his work. While others have more subdued brushstrokes which make the mood and energy far more relaxed. Herve had a very good grasp on creating these emotions through his brushstrokes and colors.

Jules Herve was fascinated with the high class bourgeois society in Paris. He would often paint patrons going to the Opera house, or strolling down on of Paris' beautiful boulevards. Herve never used his paintings to make commentary about social issues, rather it was the fashion of the haute bourgeois society which was intriguing to Herve. These fashionistas gave a modern flavor to the urban environments which Herve would paint, giving his works a better visual appeal.

Jules Herve chose to work primarily alone without being influenced from outside artist and movements. His choice of solitude proved that Herve was comfortable in his own style and was unimpressed with the new artistic styles which were going on. Herve may not have gained a lot of inspiration from the artists who were painting during his time, however he was very influenced by some of the Impressionist masters who proceeded him. Herve also produced a collection of works which showed the dancers of the ballet. The angles, style and subject matter suggest that these works were done to pay homage to Degas.

Jules Herve's works are shown in museums throughout the world. His paintings are highly collectible and very well represented at auction houses and galleries. The beautiful nature of his paintings make them very adaptable to any environment. This reason will continue to make paintings by Jules Herve extremely desirable for generations to come. The appraisers and researchers at MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. are proud to have researched and evaluated a variety of Herve's works and would relish the opportunity to assist new clients with their art-related concerns.

Researched and written by Robert Snell

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.
307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works cited:

http://www.rwfinearts.com/?level=album&id=20

http://www.fada.com/browse_by_artist.html?gallery_no=30&artist=3306&bio=1

http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=21267&page_tab=Bio_and_link