Chemin à Damiette

Armand Guillaumin prints bring bold, glowing Impressionist landscapes into your home. A friend of Cézanne, Pissarro and Van Gogh, Guillaumin showed at six of the eight Impressionist exhibitions and was called a "furious colourist" by the critic Félix Fénéon. Our collection of fine art prints covers his Paris quays and the Seine, the Creuse valley around Crozant and the Mediterranean coast at Agay.

About Armand Guillaumin

Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin was born in Paris on 16 February 1841. He worked in his uncle's lingerie shop while taking evening drawing lessons, and then for a French government railway. In 1861 he began studying at the Académie Suisse, where he met Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro, who became lifelong friends. With them he showed at the Salon des Refusés in 1863.

In the 1870s the three often painted together, and for a time Guillaumin and Cézanne had neighbouring studios on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris. In 1873 Cézanne made an etching of him, one of the only etchings of Cézanne's career. Guillaumin was a member of the group later called the Impressionists from the start and took part in six of their eight exhibitions, between 1874 and 1886.

In 1886 he became a friend of Vincent van Gogh, whose brother Theo exhibited and sold his work, and Vincent praised his paintings in at least 36 letters. In the mid-1880s his studio was a meeting place for young artists such as Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. In 1891 he won 100,000 francs in the state lottery and was finally able to leave his government job and paint full-time. He died at Orly, just south of Paris, on 26 June 1927.

Style and Subjects

Critics of his day noted Guillaumin's assured brushstroke and bold colour, and by the 1890s his palette had grown even stronger and less faithful to nature, which has led him to be described as a Fauve a decade before Fauvism. Purples, oranges and intense blues fill his skies, rocks and rivers.

He is best remembered for three kinds of landscape: Paris and the Seine, with quays, bridges and industrial riverbanks such as Le Pont-Marie; the Creuse valley around Crozant, where he was seen as the leader of the École de Crozant; and the coast near Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel and Agay, as in Les roches rouges à Agay.

Famous Works

• Hollow in the Snow (1869), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. An early winter landscape.
• View of the Seine, Paris (1871), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The river in the city during his early Impressionist years.
• Railroad Bridge over the Marne at Joinville (1871), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A modern iron bridge in the Paris suburbs.
• Soleil couchant à Ivry (1873), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Sunset over the factories of Ivry.
• The Harbor in Charenton (1878), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. A working riverbank on the edge of Paris.
• River Scene (1890), Israel Museum, Jerusalem. A river landscape in his brighter later colour.
• The Bouchardon Mill (1905), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. A mill in the Creuse valley near Crozant.
• Heights of La Sédelle (1917), Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki. A late view of the Creuse landscape.

Decorating with Guillaumin Prints

Guillaumin's strong colour makes his prints a focal point above a sofa, fireplace or console table. His Creuse valley views and snow scenes, like La Vallée de la Sedelle sous la neige, suit a living room, study or country-style space.

His sunlit Agay coastlines bring Mediterranean warmth to a bedroom or sunroom, and his Paris quays and bridges work well in a hallway or a city apartment.

FAQ

Who was Armand Guillaumin?

Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927) was a French Impressionist painter and lithographer, a friend of Cézanne, Pissarro and Van Gogh, who took part in six of the eight Impressionist exhibitions.

Why is Guillaumin called a "furious colourist"?

The critic Félix Fénéon used the phrase in 1886 for his bold colour. By the 1890s his palette was even stronger, and he has been described as a Fauve a decade before Fauvism.

Where did Guillaumin paint?

He is best remembered for landscapes of Paris and the Seine, the Creuse département around Crozant, and the Mediterranean coast near Agay.

How did Guillaumin become a full-time painter?

In 1891 he won 100,000 francs in the French state lottery, which let him leave his government job.

Related Artists

• Camille Pissarro: lifelong friend he met at the Académie Suisse
• Paul Cézanne: lifelong friend and studio neighbour
• Vincent van Gogh: friend from 1886 who admired his work
• Paul Signac: young artist who met at his studio