GRANCHI-TAYLOR Achille (1857-1921)

“Portrait of a fisherman in Concarneau” 

Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard,
Signed lower left,

Provenance: Antiquary of Le Touquet then private collection

Beautiful work of the painter Achille Granchi-Taylor which represents the portrait of a fisherman in Concarneau. This is most certainly a preparatory study for a Salon painting. The artist attaches particular importance to faces in order to bring his characters to life.

Born to an Italian immigrant father and an English mother, Achille Granchi-Taylor combines the names of his two parents. He spent his youth in Paris and began, without conviction, a career as a stockbroker.
Very quickly, he decided to devote himself entirely to painting. He entered Fernand Cormon's studio in Paris and met the painters Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, whom he became friends with. Between 1886 and 1889, he met Paul Gauguin in Pont-Aven. A few years later, he moved to Concarneau.
Thirty years later and struggling to cope with the Breton climate, Achille Granchi-Taylor settled in Asnières.

His finely crafted works, imbued with melancholy, use a dark palette showing the difficulty of life at the time. The artist represents port scenes, fishing scenes, women waiting on the quays, portraits of fishermen... The artist attaches importance to faces in order to bring his characters to life.
In 1905, the artist designed the poster for the “Fête des filets bleus” to help fishermen who were victims of the sardine crisis. He participated in the Salons in Paris from 1888 to 1912 as well as regional exhibitions where his works were appreciated.

His works are kept in various museums in France: in Concarneau, Brest, Laval, Quimper, Nantes, Marseille, Rennes... as well as in numerous private collections.

Dimensions: 37 x 33 cm without frame and 45.5 x 41.5 cm with its pine wood frame.

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