Joseph Guichard

musée des beaux-arts de Lyon

Joseph Benoît Guichard (14 November 1806, Lyon - 31 May 1880, Lyon) was a French painter and art teacher who worked in a variety of styles.

Biography

His parents were the owners of a wallpaper shop. Around 1818, he began to study drawing at the Palais Saint-Pierre (now the

Academic style by Pierre Révoil and Fleury François Richard. His first publicly displayed work was a picture of his grandmother. This formal style did not suit him, however. In 1824, he and a friend from school, Paul Chenavard, left the Palais and took classes from the sculptor, Jean-François Legendre-Héral

instead.

In 1827, he decided to go to Paris, where he met

École des beaux-arts de Paris in 1828 and discovered Eugène Delacroix, he disavowed Ingres and painted without preliminary sketches; a practice he would follow throughout his life. Immediately after his debut at the Salon in 1831 Ingres, in his turn, disavowed Guichard. The showing was a success, however, and he obtained the patronage of the author, Auguste Jal

, a distant relative.

In 1833, through his numerous connections, Guichard was able to meet with

Old Masters, to expose them to the greatest possible number of people. Guichard was chosen to copy the "Descent from the Cross" by Daniele da Volterra. After a brief visit with his family in Lyon, he went to Rome. When he had completed the "Descent', he was assigned to copy The Triumph of Galatea by Raphaël. In the meantime, Guichard's former mentor, Ingres, had been named Director of the French Academy in Rome, replacing Horace Vernet

, who had become a friend of Guichard's. To everyone's surprise, he approved of the work Guichard was doing. Upon returning to Paris, he was commissioned to do decorative paintings at several churches.

In 1839, he married Agathe Lagrenée (1815-1876); daughter of the painter Anthelme-François Lagrenée (1774-1832) and granddaughter of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée; whom Vernet had introduced him to in Rome.

In 1850, he had the honor of painting alongside Delacroix, decorating the

École des beaux-arts de Lyon, succeeding the late Michel Philibert Genod

, and returned to his hometown.