Madame Guillonnet - Octave Guillonet (1872-1967)

Octave Guillonnet excels in all the arts.

Painter of sport Decorator, of private mansion, churches and national monuments.
Precursor in the Arts Décos: mosaic, ceramics, stained glass...
Painter, portraitist, orientalist,
genre scene and illustrator!
He exhibited his first drawing at the age of 13
during a universal exhibition in 1886.
Medals followed regularly.
In 1891, he finished 3rd in the Grand Prix de Rome.
In 1900, he made a monumental decoration for the pavilion of the colonies at the Universal Exhibition.
In 1902 he obtained a travel grant for Algeria, and took advantage of this to visit the Maghreb.
These years were decisive for his work.
He is very influenced by the light and colors
and his painting is closer to the post-impressionists and his paintings become more and more colorful.

This painting represents the artist's wife,
Eugénie Guyon, her maiden name.
Born in 1872, she came from the French upper middle class.
Eugenie, is often used as a model.

This canvas seems to have been painted in the years 1904-1905,
just after the return from the Maghreb which so marked Guillonnet.
Eugénie was then 33 years old,
she is beautiful, young and graceful
and her husband sublimates her thanks to the colors he applies.
The orange, the purple, offer a striking contrast with the whiteness of her skin.