FEYEN-PERRIN François Nicolas Augustin

YOUNG GIRL ON A DONKEY

Oil on canvas: 200 x 111 cm / 78.7 x 43.7 ins
Signed lower left

Painter of religious subjects, history, figures, nudes, portraits, genre scenes, local scenes, landscapes with figures, waterscapes and seascapes; draughtsman. Symbolist.

François Nicolas Augustin Feyen-Perrin entered the Ecole des Beaux- Arts in Paris in 1848 where he was trained by Léon Cogniet and Adolphe Yvon. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1848 to 1882, receiving medals in 1865 and 1867. His works created a sensation at the Salon and for many years, he was one of France’s most popular painters. Along with his brother, Jacques Eugène, he was the appointed painter of the Cancale fishermen. His work was not limited to the customs of Cancale and its people and he painted the full range of subjects. Some paintings are historical or depict religious history, mythology, events or literary history: others are more allegorical or celebrate female beauty. He exhibited at the Salon until 1882. Matisse would have recalled the rhythmic garland of naked women in Feyen-Perrin’s “Old Dance”, when he created the various versions of “La Danse” (The Dance) in 1910. For Feyen-Perrin, as grace became compatible with his subjects, his work took on a new dimension. Stylistically closer to Symbolism than Impressionism, he found his place in history with a characteristic style that bears witness to bourgeois tastes of the time.

Period:
Bey-sur-Seille (Meurthe-et-Moselle) 1826 - Paris 1888
French School

Exhibitions:
Aix-en-Provence - Angers - Arras - Epinal - Le Mans - Moulins - Nancy - Paris - Rheims - Toulon - Tours - Troyes

Literature:
E. Bénézit, "Dictionary of Artists", Paris 2006, Vol. 5, p. 667.