-By Donato Giancola
Jules Bastien-Lepage was a brilliant 19th Century Realist French painter who died far too young. He was born in 1848, and died in 1884 at just 36 years of age.
For some wonderful high resolution files of Bastien-Lepage’s work visit: Art Renewal Center – Bastien-Lepage
I can't believe he died at 36. Fantastic artist in the brief time he had.
Fell in love first time I saw his work in the Milwaukee Art Museum. That strange overcasty almost otherworldly light.
I first came across Bastien-Lepage in my big John William Waterhouse book. He was an amazing painter in his own right, and I can tell that he definitely inspired Waterhouse from the 1880s onward.
So glad you mentioned Bastien, Donato. Wish there was a book on him in English. He was a major inspiration for late 19th century painters, such as the Newlyn School painters of Cornwall. He chose honest subjects, ordinary hardworking people of rural France and painted most of them outdoors from life. Painters like Sorolla greatly admired him. His early death was a big blow to his contemporaries.
WOW! To think of how many paintings he could have given the world if he had only lived another decade…