(Versailles, 1856 - 1946)

Children playing

Oil on canvas

24" x 20" 

32 1/2" x 28 1/2" framed

SOLD

          An artist of the French school, Girardet was actually born of Swiss parents at Versailles (his father was the Swiss engraver Paul Girardet).  His oeuvre consists primarily of history scenes, genre paintings, landscapes and murals.  In addition to his mastery of oil paints, he was also skilled at using both watercolors and pastels.  A student of the famed Cabanel at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, he exhibited often at the Paris Salon and the Horticulture Society between 1883 and 1904.  He took part as well in a number of exhibitions in the provinces and in Switzerland, and showed 9 canvases at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and 2 at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.  Because of his talents as an artist, he was commissioned to execute a large decorative panel for the Grand Conseil's room at Neuchatel, where the piece continues to hang to this day.

          Girardet was awarded a number of prizes for his artistic work, including a third place medal in 1881, and both a bronze medal and silver medal in 1889 at the Exposition Universelle.  Known especially for his paintings of gardens and roses, he was also rather celebrated for his history paintings.  Among the more famous of these are The Siege of Saragosse, The Last Days of Marie-Antoinette, and The Arrest of Louise Michel.        

          This particular canvas was exhibited at P. Ferret in Paris, with the original exhibition label still affixed to the piece.

Recorded:

Benezit, Emmanuel.  Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs.  (Paris: Librairie Grund, 1999).

Johnson, J.  and A. Greutzner.  Dictionary of British Art, Volume V: British Artists, 1880 - 1940.  (Suffolk:  Antique Collectors' Club Ltd.,  1990).

Schurr, Gerald  and Pierre Cabanne.  Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la Peinture 1820 - 1920.  (Paris:  Les Editions de l'Amateur,  1996).

Collections:

Berne: Au bord du lac Leman ;   Geneva: La Deroute de Cholet ;   Nantes;   Neuchatel ;   Quimper: La Revolte de Fouesnant