"pardon" In Sainte-anne-la-palud By émile Simon - Brittany

Born in Rennes, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in his hometown before winning a scholarship to study in Paris at the famous studio of Cormon. In 1912, he won the Rome Prize.

After World War I, he secured a position as a professor at the School of Fine Arts in Nantes, which he went on to direct a few years later. In the 1930s, Émile Simon went through a dark period that first cost him his left eye following a motorcycle accident, and then saw his wife pass away after three years of marriage. It was also during this period that he became Madeleine Fié-Fieux’s painting teacher. This woman became a sort of patron for the painter. In 1947, to escape the bombings, he moved in with the Fié-Fieux couple at the Squividan manor in Clohars Fouesnant. He would never leave that home again.

This highly sensitive painter drew great inspiration from Breton landscapes,people, and scenes of Breton life. It was there, among the humble and at religious festivals, that he found his inspiration. Émile Simon was a Post-Impressionist whose works serve as snapshots of life in Cornouaille during the first half of the 20th century.

Free from financial worries, he sold very few of his paintings, all of which remained at the Squividan manor. To honor his talent, Mrs. Fié-Fieux bequeathed the manor and the painter’s numerous paintings to the department; you can therefore view some of his work in this small museum, as well as at the fine arts museums in Nantes and Rennes.