Eugène Deshayes (1862-1939) - The Wave, 1896

Eugène Deshayes (1862-1939)
La vague, 1896
Oil on panel
32 x 24 cm
(42.5 x 34.5) cm with frame
Signed and dated lower right

Eugène François DESHAYES is a French orientalist painter. Eugène DESHAYES was born in Algiers in 1862. As a child, he was often sick and bedridden. He then asks for a slate, a pencil and draws from morning to evening. In high school in Algiers, he distinguished himself in drawing class. Still very young, he lost his parents and was raised by his brother, then a young doctor at the Douera hospital. He joined the School of Fine Arts in Algiers then directed by Emile-Charles Labbé, landscape painter from the Barbizon school. He finally obtained a scholarship to integrate the Beaux Arts in Paris, in 1882. He trained in the studio of the painter Gérôme, regularly frequented the Louvre where he made copies. In direct contact with nature, he painted Versailles, Parc Monceau and went so far as to sell his "Snowscape at Clamart" to the famous art dealer Durand-Ruel. On his return to Algiers in 1890, the press immediately favored him. He exhibited at the Dru gallery, paintings from the Paris region and around Algiers. He also participates each year in the Salon of French Artists in Paris. Lover of Nature, light effects, he studies Mediterranean fauna and flora. He even happens to paint from a studio boat, the sea and its variations at all hours of the day. He loves the effervescent life of ports, ships, paddle steamers. Traveling through southern Algeria, he also follows the caravans, within the vast expanses of the Sahara. He planted his easel all over the region: Ouargla, Biskra, Batna, Timgad... and also traveled through Morocco, South Oranais, Tunisia... In 1900, he painted one of the fourteen decorative panels of the Pavilion of Algeria at the Universal Exhibition. Sallès, Chataud, Muller, Noailly, Sintès, Antony, Reynaud and his friend Bertrand share the others. He received many awards: the Cross of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1935, a gold medal for his participation in the International Exhibition in 1937. He died in 1939.