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EUGENE GALIEN-LALOUE
French
(1854 - 1951)
Born in Paris in December of 1854,
Eugene Galien-Laloue is recognized as one of the top masters of French
impressionist street scenes.
Beginning in 1877 he was student of Charles Laloue, a long-time member
of the Artistes Francais, a prestigious French art association. Gifted
beyond measure, Galien-Laloue became well known at the turn of the century
for capturing the very ambiance of Paris on his canvas.
During the early part of his career as an artist Galien-Laloue took on
several pseudonyms because of an exclusive contract with a major gallery.
These pseudonyms included L. Dupuy, J. Lievin, Lenoir and E. Galiany,
all of which are listed in the E. Benezit Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs,
Dessinateurs et Graveurs and the Laloue Catalogue.
Working in gouache with light, delicate strokes, Galien-Laloue had the
uncanny ability to give the illusion of detail in an impressionistic style.
Well-known in France, his paintings of the early 1900's accurately represent
the era in which he lived - Paris' happy, bustling days of horse-drawn
carriages, trolley cars and its first omnibuses.
A typical Galien-Laloue painting depicted scenes of Parisian sidewalks
and avenues crowded with people or turn-of-the-century tourists mingling
before the capital's monuments.
In addition, the artist's landscapes of Normandy and Seine-et-Marne are
highly esteemed, as well as the military scenes he produced in 1914. Indeed,
Galien-Laloue's works are valued not only for their contribution to 20th
century art, but for the actual history, which they document.
A forerunner in popularizing the painting of street scenes, Galien-Laloue
has inspired and influenced many of yesterday's and today's artists, including
renowned French impressionists Edouard Cortes and Antoine Blanchard.
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