Bernard Benezet (1835-1897) : vie et oeuvre
Institution:
Toulouse 2Disciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
The painter benezet, talented student of the beaux-art school in toulouse, then flandrin's disciple in paris, began in 1860 to decorate the main sanctuarys and public buildings of toulouse and its region. These paintings submitting to the tradition of the council of trente, also corresponds in a exemplary way to the definition of sacred art, as express rio and montalembert beginning 1830-1840: a painter with faith, furthermore learned and well-read, a curiosity for archaism and italian middle age, follower of mural painting and partisan of the canons of ingres. Kepping in with an intellectual atmosphere and specific politics (gothic revival), this pictorial movement is distinguished by a strong thematic coherance due to the conjuction of the artist's regionalism and taste for medieval and renaissance subjects (clemence isaure, saint germaine. . . ) and by a unity of style, combining middle age spirit and assets from the renaissance, fulfilling the ideological desires of the monarchists, religious extremists, to which benezet identifys himself. This political, religious and esthetic respect of conformity of the rules is the origin of the monopoly of sites acquired by the artist, one of the few able to live with his painting, and allowing him to live in toulouse. However, due to the development of ideas and taste, he falls rapidly into an unmerited forgetfulness, in spite of his work full of variety and quality.
Abstract FR:
Le peintre benezet, eleve talentueux de l'ecole des beaux-arts de toulouse, puis disciple a paris de flandrin, decore a partir de 1860 les principaux sanctuaires et edifices publics et prives de toulouse et de sa region. Ce foyer pictural, obeissant a la tradition tridentine de l'image religieuse (notion de convenance) correspond aussi de facon exemplaire a la definition de l'art sacre telle que la formulent rio et montalembert a partir de 1830-1840: un peintre ayant la foi, par ailleurs savant et lettre, curieux d'archaisme et du moyen-age italien, adepte de la peinture murale et partisan des canons ingresques. S'inscrivant dans un climat intellectuel et politique specifique (le "gothic revival"), ce foyer pictural se caracterise par une forte coherence thematique residant dans la conjonction du regionalisme de son auteur et de son gout pour des sujets medievaux et renaissants (clemence isaure, sainte germaine. . . ), et par une unite stylistique, alliant esprit du moyen-age et acquis de la renaissance, qui repond aux aspirations ideologiques des monarchistes ultramontains auxquels benezet s'identifie. Cette orthodoxie politique, religieuse, esthetique, est a l'origine du monopole des chantiers qu'obtient l'artiste, un des rares a pouvoir vivre de sa peinture en restant a toulouse. Cependant, l'evolution des idees et du gout le fait tomber rapidement dand un oubli immerite, eu egard a la diversite et a la qualite de son oeuvre.