page_title: Évariste Carpentier
section_title: France
hierarchical_section_title: Évariste Carpentier / Biography / France
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: "Deux élégantes touristes, la mère et sa fille, en deuil et l'air navré, descendent, au hasard d'un relais, dans une auberge remplie d'ouvriers et de rouliers qui les regardent."
context_page_description: Évariste Carpentier was a Belgian painter of genre scenes and animated landscapes. Over the years, his painting evolved from academic art to impressionism. Alongside Emile Claus, he is one of the earliest representatives of luminism in Belgium.
  Carpentier was a pupil at the Antwerp Academy. He lived in Paris from 1879 till 1886. The talent and personality of the artist never ceased to develop. After having painted religious subjects and a large number of Vendée scenes, he sought in rustic life and the open air those choice subjects which can only be tackled by artists who have the talent to take on the difficulty of painting the human figure in bright sunshine, in the green countryside, and beneath the ever beautiful, harmonious Flemish sky. Carpentier taught at the Liège Academy and was its director until his death. His "Mme Roland at Sainte-Pélagie" was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1886 and his "Farniente, Souvenir of Flanders" at the Salon of 1887.
context_section_description: On the advice of his doctor, Carpentier left Kuurne in 1879 for the south of France, in order to speed up his recovery. The following year, on his return, he stopped in Paris, where he met his friend Jan Van Beers. He was persuaded to move to the French capital, where Van Beers would share his studio with him. Carpentier began to produce realistic paintings of Parisian bourgeoisie.
  In 1881, he was finally able to get rid of his crutches permanently and settled in 71 Boulevard de Clichy. He then followed his passion of historical painting. Scenes of the French Revolution, as well as the episodes of the War in the Vendée, became his main sources of inspiration. Having always had a predilection for dramatic episodes, Carpentier refined his composition skills in the search of better ways to depict the pathetic character of minor historical facts, such as those in "Chouans en déroute" (1883) and "Madame Roland à la prison Sainte-Pélagie" (1886). His paintings became highly appreciated by the public.
  This success constituted, however, an obstacle from his discovery of "plein air" painting. In this regard, the year 1884 marked a turning point in his career. Carpentier finally left the conventions of academism and found his true artistic voice. After discovering the works of Jules Bastien-Lepage, he began to dedicate himself to "plein air" painting, turning to nature through the Realism movement. He stayed for two seasons principally at Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, near the forest of Fontainebleau, but also at Le Tréport and at Saint-Malo.
caption: The Lady-strangers (1887) Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
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