Philippe Solari
Philippe Solari (born May 2, 1840 in Aix-en-Provence , † January 20, 1906 ibid) was a Provencal sculptor of Italian birth, a contemporary and friend of Paul Cézanne and Émile Zola . He took French citizenship in 1870 .
life and work
Youth and education
Born into a poorly well-off family with many children - he had six sisters - Philippe Solari attended the Notre-Dame boarding school, where he met Émile Zola. They became close friends. Between 1860 and 1865 Solari attended the regular Tuesday evenings in Paris where art was discussed in Zola's apartment; other participants were Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro . Since Solari was interested in art and especially in sculpture, he took courses at the art school in Aix-en-Provence
After winning the Prix Granet in Aix, he attended the Académie Suisse in Paris. This art school, which was located on the Quai des Orfèvres on the Île de la Cité , also had Édouard Manet , Claude Monet , Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne among its students . Solari could barely make a living as an artist. The painter Achille Emperaire , who also studied at the Académie Suisse, said: "Everyone got support only poor Solari had to worry about his next meal." For the first time the work was painted by him in the Salon de Paris was added in 1867.
Work as a sculptor
In 1867 he married Thérèse Strempel, the daughter of a German industrialist. Although she did not live long, she gave birth to two children: a daughter in 1867 and a son six years later, Émile, whose godparents became Émile Zola and his wife. Solari had been the best man at Zola's wedding.
During the discussion about Solaris Sleeping Negro in the salon in 1868, Zola said: “I see Philippe Solari as one of our two or three best truly modern sculptors. He has stopped dreaming about absolute beauty. For him, beauty has become a living expression of nature, an interpretation of the living body ”.
When his sculpture by Johan Barthold Jongkind was unveiled in 1904 in the Montmartre cemetery , the artist did not reveal himself. This characteristic shyness was undoubtedly responsible for the obstacles he felt in his career. A first cast of Jongkind's sculpture is on display in rue Ganay in Aix.
Last years
Shortly before his death, Solari created two sculptures by Cézanne, one he worked on from memory (known as Cézanne, the dreamer ), for the other Cézanne sat as a model in his studio in Aix. Journalist Jules Bernex shared an anecdote about the last session: “When Solari was making the final changes, he took a pincenez out of his pocket and put it on his nose. Cézanne protested and exclaimed that he would never again sit for someone who could not see him with the naked eye ”.
While working on a parade for the Aix Carnival, Solari fell ill with pneumonia . During the transport to the hospital he muttered, “What bad luck with the weather.” Solari died in the same year as Cézanne. The painter Joseph Ravaisou summed up: “The year that ended saw two artists parting , […] one was a sculptor, the other a painter. [...] Both artists succumbed to their illness under the same circumstances. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vers une sociologie des œuvres , Jean-Olivier Majastre, Alain Pessin, ed. L'Harmattan, 2001, p. 194.
- ↑ John Rewald, Emperaire , Amour de l'Art, 1938
- ↑ Émile Zola, Mon salon , L'Événement illustré , June 16, 1868.
- ↑ In the exhibition of the Musée Granet
- ^ Jules Bernex, Le Feu , 1906.
- ↑ Louis Ginies, Le Feu , 1932
- ↑ Joseph Ravaisou, Lou Cade d'Aix , 1907
swell
- Les petits maîtres d'Aix à la belle époque , F. Baille, 1981.
- Biography of Solari from Zola archive in University of Toronto ( Memento from March 13, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Solari, Philippe |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 2, 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aix-en-Provence |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 20, 1906 |
| Place of death | Aix-en-Provence |