Seaside Cézembre Island In Saint-malo - Mary Renard

Oil on canvas signed lower right Mary Renard and dated 1896.
It depicts the island of Cézembre in Saint-Malo (northeastern Brittany).

Marie Céleste Prudent Renard, known as "Mary Renard," born August 23, 1849, in Colonard-le-Buisson and died October 10, 1925, in Alençon, was a painter and curator at the Alençon Museum. His parents were farmers. He lost his father at the age of 7 and his mother a few years later. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and upon returning from the war, he married and chose to live in Alençon. He participated in the Salon in 1880 and exhibited Autumn in Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei. He was admitted to the Salon des Artistes Français in 1890 and became a member in 1894. He considered himself a student of Paul Saïn.

He chose the landscapes of Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei for his paintings, which he presented at the 1897 Salon. Dedicated to local architectural heritage, Mary Renard was curator of the Alençon museums in 1910. He was the founding president of the Société des Amis des Arts. He died on October 10, 1925, in his studio at 38 rue du Jeudi in Alençon. He left behind a large body of work, highly appreciated during his lifetime abroad, particularly in Germany, Austria, and even the United States.