Bastien-Lepage & Followers, Naturalism
Jules Bastien-Lepage was born in 1848, the same year as Paul Gauguin, but whereas Gauguin was very little regarded in his own lifetime, Bastien-Lepage, after his failed attempts to win the Prix de Rome, returned to his home village Damillers in the valley of the Meuse and in the years between 1877-1880, produced a series of Naturalistic rural icons and an unforgettable portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, which won for him the Cross of the Legion D’Honeur and acclaim across the European Art World. The painter, who in 1879, Emile Zola considered, as “the grandson of Courbet and Millet” This evening, we will explore how his work influenced contemporaries all across Europe.
Free wine, beer, or soft drinks. £5 donation to the Reading Room Fund, with under 16 free. Brian Armstrong, 01722 790647 or [email protected]