Eugène Galien-Laloue
(Montmartre 1854 – Chérence 1941)
Feeding ducks by the water’s edge
Signed l.r.
Oil on canvas, 48.5 x 65 cm
N.B.:
Eugène Galien-Laloue acquired a reputation with his work at an early age. He painted many views of Paris during autumn and winter, in which he depicted the prosperous and elegant Paris of the belle époque. The succesful start of his career as a painter won him an exclusive contract with a renowned art gallery. Due to this contract Galien-Laloue assumed several pseudonyms to be able to continue working privately. He used the name J. Lievin (after a soldier he met during the Franco-Prussian War) and E. Galiany (an Italian basterdisation of his own name). Under these pseudonyms he painted summer landscapes in Normandy and Seine-et-Marne, the breeding ground of the later Barbizon School. In 1874 he worked as an illustrator for the French railways depicting the railway lines between Paris and the surrounding provinces. During his long train journeys the artist was impressed by the landscapes. The French Republic appointed him war artist, after which he painted several historically important works.