Norbert Goeneutte 

Biography of Norbert Goeneutte  ( 1854-1894 )

Painter, draughtsman and lithographer Norbert Goeneutte enrolled at the Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1871, in the studio of Isidore Pils. When his master died in 1873, the young painter left the Beaux-Arts and rented a studio at 21 rue Bréda. His next-door neighbor, the artist Marcellin Desboutin, introduced him to printmaking. Both frequented the Nouvelle Athènes at 9 place Pigalle, a meeting place for artists and painters of the period. They rubbed shoulders with Zola, Manet, Degas and Renoir. In 1875, Goeneutte posed for Renoir in “Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette”, and in “La Balançoire”.

He began his career as a Salon artist in 1876 with two paintings, “En classe” and “Le boulevard Clichy par un temps de neige”, which was to become one of his most famous. During this Salon, he met art collector Hippolyte Fortin, of whom he painted two portraits in 1878.

Goeneutte met with great success at the 1877 Salon des Artistes Français with “L'appel des balayeurs devant l'Opéra”, a boldly framed Parisian genre scene. This painting illustrates particularly well the influence of the Impressionists' themes of modernity and urban life, as well as the importance of capturing the present moment. Indeed, the treatment of passers-by in front of the Opera is reminiscent of some of Caillebotte's paintings.

Appreciated by painters and writers of the time, he made a name for himself at the 1880 Salon with a strikingly truthful work entitled “La soupe du Matin” (“Morning Soup”). Antonin Proust, journalist and politician, first Minister of the Arts, said of this painting in 1895 during a retrospective of the artist's works: “The distribution of the soup of the poor will remain as one of the most beautiful paintings of our time”.

In 1881, Goeneutte lost his friend Edouard Manet, and very saddened by his death, he submitted “The Drinker”, a tribute to Manet's painting “Bon Bock”, to the 1884 Salon. Manet, twenty-two years his senior, considered the young painter the most brilliant artist of his generation.

During the winter of 1888-1889, Bracquemond and Guérard created a new society: Les Peintres Graveurs. Goeneutte naturally took part in the exhibitions that temporarily brought together three generations of independent printmakers at Durand-Ruel: the Impressionists represented by Pissarro, Degas and Bracquemond, the generation of Guérard, Goeneutte and Buhot, and younger artists such as Lucien Pissarro.
The 1889 World's Fair and the first exhibition of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts were a triumph. Once again, Goeneutte was a success, confirming his status as a major artist. Constantly in demand from the dealers and collectors of the day, commissions poured into his studio.

Alas, the artist's health was fragile, and in 1891 Doctor Gachet, whose portrait he painted, diagnosed him with heart disease. He advised him to move to Auvers-sur-Oise, from where he continued to paint for three years, enabling him to take part in exhibitions organized by the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. At the age of just 40, Goeneutte died, leaving behind a body of work of the utmost importance.

Norbert Goeneutte loved to paint scenes of Parisian life, portraits of family and friends, genre scenes, elegant women and numerous landscapes. Despite the diversity of his themes and techniques, Norbert Goeneutte's work is of great unity. He depicts scenes of everyday life with simplicity and attention to detail. A certain quietude, peculiar to his work, emanates from all his compositions.