Large Painting Of Fisherman, Henry Bidauld

Large painting of a fisherman

Henry Bidauld born 1839 Sainte Colombe de bois ( Nievre ) died 1898 in Rossillon was a painter and illustrator

Henri Bidauld was the nephew of the painter Jean-Pierre-Xavier Bidauld (1745-1813) and great-nephew of the neclassical painter Jean Joseph Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846). Henri Bidauld's aunt, Rosalie Bidault dit Zélie (1798-1876) was also a painter.

After a childhood in Neuville sur Ain, he moved to Paris where he perfected his painting with Louis Francais and sculpture, continued his training with a two-year stay in Rome, then returned to Paris

Following in his father-in-law's footsteps, Henri Bidauld succeeded in making Rossillon a village of painters where many artists came to work in the surrounding area. A literary community also met there with writers and poets, including Joséphin Soulary. In 1870, he was elected to the municipal council of Rossillon and became mayor in 1884. He remained as such until his death in 1898.

Henri Bidauld made his debut at the Salon in Lyon in 1864 and exhibited there regularly until 1897. In 1872, he exhibited at the Paris Salon and won an award for his painting The Sacred Wood at La Burbanche, which was bought by the State and donated two years later to the municipal museum of La Roche Sur Yon. He exhibited in Paris until 1893.

He painted landscapes, in the Loire and then mainly in the Bugey (Ain) around the Rossillon, genre scenes depicting the peasant life of the region, with acute realism influenced by Jean Francois Millet and later by his friend Jules Breton. There are very few portraits painted by Henri Bidauld, with the exception of a few studies and drawings. In 1883, he illustrated Charles Guillon's book, Les Chansons populaires de l'Ain., preface by Gabriel Vicaire with other artists such as Charles Beauverie.

His traditional, landscape style initially evolved timidly towards Impressionism in the 1880s.

His works are held in the town halls of Belley and Carpentrans, in Bourg en Bresse at the Brou Museum, the municipal museum of La Roche sur Yon the departmental museum of Burgey Valromey and the museums of Dijon and Lyon.