"the Surroundings Of Penmarc'h" In Brittany By Ernest Guérin

Style: French School, circa 1925

Condition: Very good condition

Technique:Watercolor and graphite on paper

Other:Signed lower right and titled

Dimensions: 27 x 35 cm

Shipping within France: 40 €


Ernest Guérin



1887 – 1952 Painter

Ernest Guérin was born in Rennes in 1887;

he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in his hometown under the guidance of Jules Ronsin, who was then the school’s director.  He was trained by Jean Lafon, a marine painter, and continued his studies in Paris before returning permanently to Brittany.

A unique figure in the history of Breton painting, Guérin did not align himself with any particular group or movement.

At the dawn of the 20th century, as major artistic revolutions were gaining momentum, Ernest Guérin invites us to explore a picturesque Brittany inspired by medieval times.

The creator of a significant body of work on Brittany, he was a watercolorist, miniaturist, and illuminator.

He reveals to us a Brittany of tales and legends, in which Lilliputian figures wander along paths strewn with pebbles.

“This man, who likes to present himself—now that he has left adolescence behind—as the ruler of a duchy that does not exist and the prince of a territory described in no guidebook, is the inventor of a land to which he alone seems to hold the keys.”(Ernest Guérin, Romane Pétroff).

A talented watercolorist, Ernest GUÉRIN gained recognition as early as 1913 during an exhibition at the Pavillon de Marsan in Paris.

Influenced by the Flemish Primitives, Ernest Guérin took an interest in the art of illumination and created a series of works depicting saints from Breton culture. He produced a significant number of watercolor works depicting Breton thatched-roof cottages, the sea, churches, and religious festivals in Brittany, executed with exceptional technical mastery.

He also created large-scale works for hotel interiors, as well as triptychs that adorned homes throughout the region.