Over eight years ago when I was in my early days of the hunt for a house to call home, I briefly visited the village of Cailhau. The house I had been taken to see required more work than I was looking to do but the village seemed to have much to be proud of. However, I should have explored more as there are treasures to behold. The artist community is thriving there and I have finally made it to one of their events. I may have to return soon.
I followed the path and found the first gallery of my journey. “La Bohème”, While I managed to snap a few photos, it was lunchtime and being France, it was closing until late afternoon. Happily I have a few pieces to show from here. There is much more information available on the artists collective if you visit their blog, artcailhau.blogspot.com or if you are on Facebook you can visit at facebook.com/cailhauartistes
Artists of Cailhau carry on in the illustrious footsteps of a great artist who lived in the village and whose family still do. The group of artists that reside there are continuing the path of the earliest well known artist from Cailhau. Archille Laugé (1861-1944) moved to Cailhau in his youth with his parents. Despite his father’s wishes that he study Pharmacy in Toulouse in 1878, he followed his heart enrolling at the Beaux-Arts where he met the artist Bourdelle. At Beaux-Arts he came in contact with artists Alexandre Cabanal (1823-1889), Jean-Paul Laurens (1838-1921), and Aristide Maillot (1861-1944) and the two were to become lifelong friends. He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1884 with a depiction of his friend Bourdelle.
Four years later, he left Paris and returned to Cailhau. He made many friends among the locals. During his time in Paris he adopted the divisionist touch of the Neo-Impressionists under the influence of Georges Seurat (1859-1891), he also had a high regard for the works of both Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) and Paul Signac (1863-1935).
Laugé’s paintings and compositions reflect the harsh sunlight so prevalent in the south. Like a number of his contemporaries whose work followed a similar vein, Henri-Edmond Cross ( 1856-1910), Henri Martin (1860-1943) he too was drawn further south continuing to work in and around the area of Collioure. Collioure, the beachside village that charmed Picasso, van Gogh, Cézanne and many more continues to inspire artists and is a must if you are in the south of France.
In 1894 three of his paintings were exhibited at the Salon des Independants, additionally, a number of works at an exhibition which included Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), Paul Sérusier (1863-1927), Henri de Toulouse -Lautrec (1864-1901) and Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) in Toulouse. There is much more about the artist available online. Today his great-granddaughter continues to live in Cailhau.
Christine’s creations are available at her Atelier/Boutique located in the centre of the village or you can email her directly at christine.daunis@orange.fr Additionally there is the Art Collective site as listed in the beginning of this post.
Bijoux by Matthew/Objet d’art by Matthew
These pieces were on display at the foyer. However, we shall get to his private gallery but most likely in a later post.
You can find Vincent on the Art Collective site and at his private site http://www.vlang.net
There is more of his work in a future post.
More of Anne’s work can be viewed on her site or by visiting Atelier Al Trial.
While Jürgen Engels passed on in January, his wife has graciously made their garden and some of Jürgen’s work available for us to see. While some of his work is still for sale, I did not find contact information. If you are interested I would contact the collective site or one of the other artists.
There is more to see and inspire at Atelier Al Trial in a future post.
You can find Mireille’s work at Atelier Al Trial, on the main website for the collective or her own personal site: http://www.mireillefourmont.fr
Unfortunately, not all artists had contact information available and I was referred to the collective site. I have been on the site a few times trying to identify some of the work. Alas some of the individual sites are temporarily down. Hopefully that will soon be rectified.
In my experience, these art exhibits have something for everyone. I do hope you found something that appealed to you or perhaps some inspiration?
Bisous,
Léa
