Beautiful representation of the town of Le Blanc, located in the department of Indre, Centre-Val de Loire region. The perspective is taken from the Moulin (mill) de la Filature, highlighting the Château-Naillac and Church de Saint-Cyran. Oil on canvas signed “E.Guille” with its original frame.
Ernest Louis Guille was born in Paris on April 27, 1847 in a family of landlords and proprietors. He studied at the School of Fine Arts where he became great friends with Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), considered one of the best American painters of the 19th century. Guille was a student of Bonnat, Harpignies, Meissonier and Carolus Duran. He exhibited regularly at the Salon de Paris between 1876 and 1894, highlighting his genre paintings and landscapes. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he alternated his artistic career with the army. In 1878 he was appointed lieutenant of the 40th Infantry Regiment at Orleans. In 1880, he married Ernestine Cottant (1854-?), a seamstress born in Oulches (Indre), recognizing her daughter Lucille-Ernestine, born in 1878, who in turn married Georges Boistard in 1901, mayor of Le Blanc between 1919 and 1924. Leaving the army a few years later, he lived between his home on rue Furstenberg in Paris and the village of Le Blanc, where he settled permanently from 1893. During his last years, he participated actively in the social and municipal life of the town, becoming the director of the Hospice of Le Blanc. Known for his strong character and aggressiveness, he entered in a spiralling conflict with Georges de Beauregard, editor-in-chief of the newspaper L'Indépendant and provincial deputy, which concluded in a duel of honour with pistols in 1896.
He died in Le Blanc (Indre) on August 8, 1906, and was buried in the Basse Ville (Lower Town) cemetery of that town.
Winckelmann Gallery is very pleased to announce that this painting is now on display in the Le Blanc Municipal Museum.
Artist: Ernest-Louis Guille (1847-1906).
Signed in lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition; recently restored.
Dimensions: 46 x 73 cm. / 18 x 29 in.
Frame: 66 x 94 cm. / 26 x 37 in. Wood and stucco, good overall condition. Weight: 6.3 kg. / 13.88 lbs.
Origin: France.