- Georges Desvallières
Georges Desvallières (1861-1950) was a French painter.
A native of
Paris , Desvallières was a great-grandson of academicianGabriel Legouvé , and received a religious upbringing. He studied at theAcadémie Julian withTony Robert-Fleury and withJules Valadon at theEcole des Beaux-Arts . He paintedportrait s at first, but a relationship withGustave Moreau turned him towards an interest inmythology and religion.Desvallières became acquainted with
ancient art during a trip toItaly in 1890, and upon his return began working in the style with which he was most associated, combining dark subjects and violent color with a dramatic conception of religion. He took as his subjects numeroussymbolist characters, such asNarcissus (in 1901),Orpheus (1902), and "The Marche Towards the Ideal" (1903); he also served as one of the founders of theSalon d'Automne . In 1919 he founded the "Ateliers d'Art Sacré" withMaurice Denis , in an attempt to renew interest in religious art. Theatelier served a similar function to that performed by artists' studios in theMiddle Ages . Desvallières became interested in religious art after losing a son toWorld War I in 1915; he himself had commanded abattalion in theVosges during the war.Desvallières also tackled a number of public and private decorative programs related to the war; among these were windows for the
Douaumont ossuary and for a church inPawtucket, Rhode Island . He also illustrated a number of books and plays, includingEdmond Rostand 's "La Princesse lointaine " and "Rolla" byAlfred de Musset . Until 1950 he also received State commissions.Works by Desvallières may be found in the
Musée d’Orsay and theMusée du Louvre . He died in Paris in 1950.Reference
*translation/ref|fr|Georges Desvallières
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