Antoine Blanchard - A Vision of Paris: Part II
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Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, HiverAntoine BlanchardArc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Hiver Boulevard de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine Bouquinistes, Notre DameAntoine BlanchardBouquinistes, Notre Dame
Cafe de la PaixAntoine BlanchardCafe de la Paix Cafe de la Paix, Place de lAntoine BlanchardCafe de la Paix, Place de l'Opera Le Moulin Rouge a MontmartreAntoine BlanchardLe Moulin Rouge a Montmartre
Le Moulin Rouge a Montmartre, Paris en 1900Antoine BlanchardLe Moulin Rouge a Montmartre, Paris en 1900 Le Théâtre du VaudevilleAntoine BlanchardLe Théâtre du Vaudeville Marche aux fleurs, Place de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardMarche aux fleurs, Place de la Madeleine
Notre Dame, Place Saint MichelEdouard Léon CortèsNotre Dame, Place Saint Michel Place de la Madeleine, HiverAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Madeleine, Hiver Place de la Madeleine, WinterAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Madeleine, Winter
Porte St. MartinAntoine BlanchardPorte St. Martin Quai du LouvreAntoine BlanchardQuai du Louvre Quai du Louvre, WinterAntoine BlanchardQuai du Louvre, Winter
Rue du Temple, ParisEdouard Léon CortèsRue du Temple, Paris St. Germain des Pres, ParisAntoine BlanchardSt. Germain des Pres, Paris Rue Tronchet, La MadeleineAntoine BlanchardRue Tronchet, La Madeleine
Quai du LouvreAntoine BlanchardQuai du Louvre Théâtre des VariétésAntoine BlanchardThéâtre des Variétés Booksellers Notre-Dame, WinterAntoine BlanchardBooksellers Notre-Dame, Winter
Boulevard des CapucinesAntoine BlanchardBoulevard des Capucines Place de la RépubliqueAntoine BlanchardPlace de la République Place du Luxembourg, Le PantheonAntoine BlanchardPlace du Luxembourg, Le Pantheon
Pont Saint Michel, Notre DameAntoine BlanchardPont Saint Michel, Notre Dame Le Boulevard, Paris (Boulevard Haussmann)Antoine BlanchardLe Boulevard, Paris (Boulevard Haussmann) Omnibus at the Place de la Madeleine, WinterAntoine BlanchardOmnibus at the Place de la Madeleine, Winter
Paris, l’Arc de TriompheAntoine BlanchardParis, l’Arc de Triomphe Porte St. Denis, WinterAntoine BlanchardPorte St. Denis, Winter Paris, Rue TronchetAntoine BlanchardParis, Rue Tronchet
Porte St. DenisAntoine BlanchardPorte St. Denis Théâtre du Gymnase, Boulevard Bonne NouvelleAntoine BlanchardThéâtre du Gymnase, Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle Notre Dame, Paris 1900Antoine BlanchardNotre Dame, Paris 1900
Champs-ÉlyséesAntoine BlanchardChamps-Élysées Arc de Triomphe, Champs ElyseesAntoine BlanchardArc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees Avenue de lAntoine BlanchardAvenue de l'Opéra
Boulevard HaussmannAntoine BlanchardBoulevard Haussmann Boulevard de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine Notre DameAntoine BlanchardNotre Dame
Les Grands Boulevards, et Theatre du VaudevilleAntoine BlanchardLes Grands Boulevards, et Theatre du Vaudeville Grands BoulevardsAntoine BlanchardGrands Boulevards Café de la Paix, OpéraAntoine BlanchardCafé de la Paix, Opéra
Café de la Paix, Opéra (Reverse)Antoine BlanchardCafé de la Paix, Opéra (Reverse) Théâtre des VariétésAntoine BlanchardThéâtre des Variétés Paris, La Cathedrale Notre DameAntoine BlanchardParis, La Cathedrale Notre Dame
Paris, Les BouquinistesAntoine BlanchardParis, Les Bouquinistes Rue Royale, MadeleineAntoine BlanchardRue Royale, Madeleine Grands Boulevard et Porte St. Denis sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardGrands Boulevard et Porte St. Denis sous la Neige
Boulevard des Capucines et Cafe de la Paix en HiverAntoine BlanchardBoulevard des Capucines et Cafe de la Paix en Hiver La Madeleine, Boulevard des CapucinesAntoine BlanchardLa Madeleine, Boulevard des Capucines Flower Market, MadeleineAntoine BlanchardFlower Market, Madeleine
Place de la RépubliqueAntoine BlanchardPlace de la République Boulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la Neige Gare de lAntoine BlanchardGare de l'Est
Gare de lAntoine BlanchardGare de l'Est Place de la ConcordeAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Concorde Place Saint Michel, Notre-DameAntoine BlanchardPlace Saint Michel, Notre-Dame
Place de la RepubliqueAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Republique Paris, Le ChateletAntoine BlanchardParis, Le Chatelet Place du Palais RoyalAntoine BlanchardPlace du Palais Royal
Place du Théâtre de la Comédie FrançaiseAntoine BlanchardPlace du Théâtre de la Comédie Française Winter in Paris, Notre-DameAntoine BlanchardWinter in Paris, Notre-Dame Place de lAntoine BlanchardPlace de l'Opéra, Cafe de la Paix
Place de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Madeleine Rue Royale, MadeleineAntoine BlanchardRue Royale, Madeleine Boulevard des CapucinesAntoine BlanchardBoulevard des Capucines
Théâtre du VaudevilleAntoine BlanchardThéâtre du Vaudeville Boulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine, Sous la Neige Théâtre des VariétésAntoine BlanchardThéâtre des Variétés
Place de la Madeleine, WinterAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Madeleine, Winter Quai du LouvreAntoine BlanchardQuai du Louvre lAntoine Blanchardl'Arc de Triomphe
Gare de lAntoine BlanchardGare de l'Est Les Grands Boulevards:
Porte St. Martin and Porte St. DenisAntoine BlanchardLes Grands Boulevards: Porte St. Martin and Porte St. Denis Le Louvre, Passerelle des ArtsAntoine BlanchardLe Louvre, Passerelle des Arts
Théâtre des VariétésAntoine BlanchardThéâtre des Variétés Rue Royale, MadeleineAntoine BlanchardRue Royale, Madeleine Flower Market at the MadeleineAntoine BlanchardFlower Market at the Madeleine
Le Moulin Rouge, Place Blanche a MontmartreAntoine BlanchardLe Moulin Rouge, Place Blanche a Montmartre Quai du Louvre, Sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardQuai du Louvre, Sous la Neige Les Grands Boulevards, sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardLes Grands Boulevards, sous la Neige
Grands Boulevard, sous la neigeAntoine BlanchardGrands Boulevard, sous la neige Boulevard de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine Place de la Madeleine, Marche aux FleursAntoine BlanchardPlace de la Madeleine, Marche aux Fleurs
Cafe de la Paix, Place de lAntoine BlanchardCafe de la Paix, Place de l'Opera Porte St. MartinAntoine BlanchardPorte St. Martin Theatre des VarietesAntoine BlanchardTheatre des Varietes
Place du Tertre a Montmartre, ParisAntoine BlanchardPlace du Tertre a Montmartre, Paris Rue Royale, MadeleineAntoine BlanchardRue Royale, Madeleine Les Grands BoulevardsAntoine BlanchardLes Grands Boulevards
Boulevard de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardBoulevard de la Madeleine LAntoine BlanchardL'Opera, Cafe de la Paix Notre-Dame, Quai St. MichelAntoine BlanchardNotre-Dame, Quai St. Michel
Rue Royale, La Madeleine sous la NeigeAntoine BlanchardRue Royale, La Madeleine sous la Neige Eglise de Saint Germain des presAntoine BlanchardEglise de Saint Germain des pres Porte St. Denis, Les Grands BoulevardsAntoine BlanchardPorte St. Denis, Les Grands Boulevards
Boulevard des Capucines, Place de la MadeleineAntoine BlanchardBoulevard des Capucines, Place de la Madeleine Quai St. MichelAntoine BlanchardQuai St. Michel Notre Dame, Les BouquinistesAntoine BlanchardNotre Dame, Les Bouquinistes

 

Antoine Blanchard was born in France on November 15, 1910 in a small village near the banks of the Loire. He was the eldest of three children and his father, a carver, managed a small carpentry and furniture shop. Antoine would watch his father hand carve the furniture and began to display an artistic flair early in life - in an effort to promote this talent, his parents sent him to Blois for drawing lessons. He continued his training in Rennes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied sculpture and drawing. Upon completion of his studies, he was awarded the schools highest award: Le Prix du Ministre.

By 1932 he left Rennes and traveled to Paris to study. He enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and after a few years entered the competition for the Prix de Rome. It was in Paris that he developed a love for the city and it's street life.

In 1939 Antoine married a young woman he met in Paris and in September of that year war broke out and he was called up for service. It was not until 1942 that he would return to his art. His daughter Nicole was born in 1944 - she too would follow in the family tradition and after the birth of her two daughters, she became an artist working under the name A. Champeau. It was also around this time that Antoine's father passed away and he was compelled to return to his hometown and run the family business - giving him little time to paint.

His second daughter, Evelyn, was born in 1947 and by 1948 he had given control of the family business to his younger brother and returned to Paris to paint. Contemporary life in Paris had changed and he longed for the bygone days. He began to research the Belle Époque period in Paris - reading and studying all the material on the period he could find.

Many of the subjects and scenes he portrayed were taken from images he collected of Paris during the 1890's and he would often work on paintings for days or months before he finally felt they were complete. A.P. Larde comments in his book Antoine Blanchard, His Life His Work that he has always spent much time on his work. This explains why his production has always been rather limited, unlike the hurried and multiple proliferations of some modern artists… Delicate touches of luminous and shimmering tones produce a marvelous impression of harmony, brightness and light. Alternate shadings and lights, sensitive and mellow blending allow the artist to attain a hardly-ever reached degree of grace, of radiant and glimmering freshness.

Larde continues to write that his works are first of all, a marvelous invitation to an ideal walk through old Paris, so different from that of to-day. Although a large number of historical monuments remain, today's Paris has little in common with Paris at the turn of the century; the scenery may be almost the same, but daily life as it characters has totally changed; the customs have been entirely transformed. In his paintings, Antoine Blanchard invites us to relive this period by showing us pleasant strolls along embankments, squares and boulevards at a period in Parisian life when time did not count, when one had all one's time to idle, to stroll along the streets, to window-shop, to walk quietly along the boulevards or spend the afternoon in a sidewalk café.

Like his contemporary, Édouard Cortès, he devoted his artistic career to the depiction of Paris through all its daily and seasonal changes. But he was not an imitator of Cortes, but rather depicted the life of Paris at the turn of the century from his own point of view and with his own, unique style. Larde makes an interesting comparison: 

Édouard Cortès has always expressed himself in a rather rich virile style, using large and stressed touches, revealing a strength, which recalls the great masters of the XVIIIth century.

On the contrary, Antoine Blanchard has always used small strokes, with a delicate, enveloping and mellow treatment; the slight haziness which is a characteristic of his work in many ways recalls the great masters of the impressionist period.

Whether it was l'Arc de Triomphe, la Madeleine, Café de la Paix, Notre Dame or the dozens of other historical monuments and buildings of Paris, his focus was on the daily life of Paris at the turn of the century. His work became highly sought after and collectors from around the world vied to acquire his new works. Today he is considered one of the leading exponents of the School of Paris painters.

As with all our ‘Virtual Exhibitions’ the works illustrated below have been sold – they are displayed here for your enjoyment.   

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