Georges d'Espagnat  (French, 1870-1950) 

Georges d'Espagnat (French, 1870–1950) was a Post-Impressionist painter, muralist, illustrator, and theater designer. After moving to Paris at the age of 18 to study painting, he became involved with prominent Impressionist painters of the time, exhibiting his work at the Salon des Refusés and the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. d’Espagnat’s depicted everyday Parisian life, female figures, landscapes, and still lifes, in a painterly style of additive brushstrokes with a unique treatment of color, resembling the Fauves. He was influential in the art circles of his time—notably with Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903), Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), Camille Pissaro (French, 1831–1903), and Marc Chagall (French/Russian, 1887–1985)—in addition to being close to a number of prominent musicians, such as Albert Roussel. In 1906, he illustrated the book Sixtine, by Remy de Gourmont (French, 1858–1915), and later worked with Alphonse Daudet on his book, L’Immortel . Traveling extensively throughout his lifetime, d’Espagnat visited Britain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Morroco, and Spain. Elected vice president of the Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1935, d’Espagnat was an active member at the Salon while teaching at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts until the 1940s. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France.