Jules Achille NOËL (1815-1881)

Jules Achille NOËL (Nançy 1815-1881 Mustapha)
View of Le Havre Harbour, 1872

PROVENANCE:
- New-york, Christie's, October 30th, 2001, lot 11;
- London, The Willow Gallery;
- Private collection
- France, private collection until April 2021

Landscape and marine painter, Jules Noël, or Jules Achille Noël, whose real name was Louis Assez Noël, was born in Nancy in 1810 and died in Algeria in 1881.
He painted on the ground in Brittany and Normandy.
His father being from Lorraine and his mother from Plougasnou, he spent part of his childhood in Quimper where his father, a teacher, learned drawing. He was trained at the Charioux Academy in Brest.
He taught drawing in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, then in Lorient and then lived in Nantes from 1839 to 1843.

He worked in the region of his in-laws between Auray and Hennebont, but also frequented the port cities of Douarnenez, Brest, Quimper, Morlaix and Landerneau. He then exhibited at the Paris Salon until 1879.
His style can be compared to that of Eugène Isabey.
In his detailed paintings, he treats the effects of light with a sensitivity close to that of Eugène Boudin and Johan Barthold Jongkind.
He was very successful during his lifetime. In 1846, Baudelaire celebrated this artist for his clear line and his vivid colors.

The museum of Quimper, in collaboration with the museum of Dieppe, presents the first monographic exhibition dedicated to the artist in 2005.

Our painting is a fine example of the highest quality known from Jules NOËL.