Henry Moret

Biography of Henry Moret ( 1856-1913 )

Born in Cherbourg in 1856, Henry Moret was a student of the painter Ernest Corroller in Lorient. He joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1876, working in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Paul Laurens and Henri Lehmann.

He exhibited for the first time at the Salon of 1880 with the "Loqueltaz beach at low tide" and sent works at the Salon des Artistes Français for several years. His paintings were inspired by the painter Corot and the Barbizon school.

Moret discovered the south coast of Brittany during his military service. In the years 1888/89, he met Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard during stays in Pont-Aven and joined the group of the school of Pont-Aven. The painter was inspired by the landscapes of the Pouldu region, a place that quickly became a new center of attraction for the artists of Pont-Aven.

In 1895, he joined the merchant Paul Durand-Ruel, who sold his paintings to many galleries in Paris, London and New York. During this collaboration, Moret produced more than 600 paintings, many of them were exhibited in Paris and New York. In 1898, he got a solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Gallery.

Henry Moret mainly represented Brittany, especially Morbihan region and the Breton islands of Groix, Belle-Ile, Houat and Ouessant. Among his favorite subjects: rocky jagged coasts and coves, cliffs, Breton moors and cottages.

First influenced by the colors and compositions used by Paul Gauguin and the Nabis group, Moret later adopted a style close to Impressionism in his landscapes, sometimes with very architectural forms and a more nervous touch.