Frédéric Montenard, Pergola in the Bay
Description
Oil on plywood, signed lower left "Montenard".
Framed: 55x66 cm (40x50 cm).
Frédéric Montenard (Paris 1849 - 1926 Besse-sur-Issole ) - French landscape painter and marinist. He came from an old Provencal family, his uncle Jean-Baptiste Giraud was a sculptor. He began his artistic studies at the École des Beaux-arts, under the direction of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. He made his debut at the Salon in 1872, since he exhibited regularly. In 1873, he joined a group of befriended painters such as: Eugène-Baptiste Emile Dauphin, Gustave Garaud and Octave Gallian in Toulon. Career breakthrough came in 1883, when two of his paintings were purchased by the French government. Six years later he won the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition. Together with his mentor Puvis de Chavannes, he helped create the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1890. In the same year, he became a Knight of the Legion of Honor. After 1892, he painted the Atlantic coast and Provence, where he painted landscapes and scenes from the life of the village.