Eugène Galien-Laloue

Galien-Laloue has long been considered one of the most popular, most celebrated and indeed best painters of Paris of the Belle Epoque.
Eugène Galien-Laloue was born in Montmartre, Paris, on 11th December 1854 the son of Charles Laloue, a theatre set designer. He enlisted in the French army to fight the Prussians and on his return he decided to devote himself entirely to painting.
In 1874 he found employment with the French Railway Board who hired him to make a visual record of the ambitious network of rail tracks being laid from Paris out into the provinces. From these early days he developed his habit of making sketches and then working up the finished pictures in his studio. He was rather introverted and solitary by nature, and infinitely preferred the quiet austerity of his studio where he would recreate the atmosphere of the streets in his unique manner.
This conservatism extended into his private life. He married three sisters, one after the other, beginning with the youngest and ending with the oldest – Flore Bardin (1861-1887), Ernestine Bardin (1855-1925) and Claire Bardin (1853-1933). They had all lived next door to him.
In 1876 at the age of 22 Galien-Laloue exhibited a painting entitled “Le quai aux fleurs par la neige” at the Museum of Reims. In the following year, as Galien-Laloue, he made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français and he continued to exhibit there regularly throughout his life. He also participated in many shows throughout the northern part of France. Evacuated from Paris during the 2nd World War, he died at Flore’s country house at Chérence, in the Val d’Oise, on 18th April 1941.
Today Galien-Laloue is unusual in that his work in both gouache and oil paints are broadly considered of equal value. In the general art market gouaches might be said to be worth around a quarter or even a tenth of the value of equivalent oils. Today the auction records for Galien-Laloue stand at just over $100,000 for both oils and gouaches.

Submitted by Modern Fine Art