Eugene Carriere
French Symbolist painter of the Fin de siècle period (end of the century), Eugène Anatole Carrière was only 15 years old when he began his art studies in Strasbourg, Austria. He spent three years there, from 1864 to 1867 learning lithography before he continued under Henri Fantin-Latour in Saint-Quentin in 1868. He found himself studying the works of the masters Rubens and Velazquez in the Louvre in 1869, becoming influenced by their darker color palettes. Carrière also took lessons from Cabanel when he joined the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in Paris later that year.
Carrière had openly expressed some of his socialist views concerning the suppression of human rights by printing them using lithography. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, he was imprisoned in Dresden, Germany. When he was released in 1871 Carrière went back to his art, this time working for lithographer Jules Cheret in 1872 to 1873, until he married and moved to London.
Beginning in 1879 he turned a new chapter in his painting career, expounding on his favorite themes: the celebration of motherhood, childhood, and friendships. He began to use contrasts in lights and shadows, as well as a color scheme of grey and misty colors, which no other painter has been able to imitate as naturally as he had done. His scenes of his domestic life revolve around paintings of his wife and children. The Young Mother (1879), The Sick Child and The First Communion are his first and more well-known pieces of this genre. In addition, his portraits of a number of famous people, which included Anatole France, Paul Verlaine, Alphonse Daudet, who were his friends, were also admired.
A decade later his portraits begin to show evidence of Art Nouveau, with their sinuous lines and shades of brown throughout. It can be seen in works such as his “Portrait of Mr. Deviye” (1887), “Portrait of E. de Goncourt” (1892) and “Meditation” (1900). Other pieces in his collection are landscapes, still lifes, nudes and several variations on the theme of the Crucifixion. His original works can be found at the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade and the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris. Reproductions of his more famous paintings are often sought after by those who desire to celebrate the love of family with his inspiring and heart-warming art.