Louis Anquetin  (French, 1861-1932) 

Louis Anquetin (French, 1861–1932) was a painter associated with the Post-Impressionist movement, and best known for his scenes of Paris at night, done in the Cloisonnist style. Born in Étrépagny, Anquetin came to Paris in 1882 to study at the studios of Léon Bonnat (French, 1833–1922) and Fernand Cormon (French, 1845–1924), and he belonged to a group of artists that included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901), Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890), and Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903). Anquetin’s early work, L’Avenue de Clichy (1887), was inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e prints that he saw at an exhibition organized by Van Gogh. This painting, exhibited at the Salon des Indépendents in 1888, prompted the critic Edouard Dujardin to develop the term “Cloisonnism,” a style influenced by Japanese prints and stained glass windows, and characterized by flat areas of color surrounded by thick outlines. He successfully submitted 10 works to the Salon des Indépendents of 1891, including Woman on the Champs-Élysées (1891), which shows a woman walking alone in the glow of streetlights. Anquetin shared an interest in depicting the seedy side of Paris with his friend Toulouse-Lautrec. Within this group of artists, Anquetin was a guiding force, but his reputation dwindled after he abandoned the Contemporary style and devoted himself to studying the techniques of the Old Masters. After traveling to Holland and Belgium to see works by Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), and Frans Hals (Dutch, 1580–1666), Anquetin focused on allegorical subject matter. His work is currently held in several museum collections, including the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, the National Gallery in London, and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.