Paul Louis MARTIN DES AMOIGNES (1850-1925)
The feast of Saint John in Amognes
oil on panel, signed and dated “June 24, 1888”
handwritten note on the back indicating "The feast of St-Jean in Amoignes"
22x38cm
Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes, pseudonym of Louis Martin,
French painter born in Saint-Benin-d'Azy (Nièvre) on June 4, 1850 and died in Nevers on June 30, 1925.
On the advice of the architect Bouveault de Monteignier and Hector Hanoteau (1823-1890), Louis Martin went to Paris to learn the elements of his art, first in Hector Hanoteau's workshop. He baptized him Martin des Amoignes to distinguish him from his namesakes. In 1881, he exhibited the painting A Garden Corner at the Salon des Champs-Élysées. From then on, he presented a painting at the Paris Salon almost every year. He also presents his works at exhibitions in Nevers, Lyon, Versailles, Rouen, Le Havre, Dijon, Troyes… He is one of the artists attending the Roses school directed until the end of the 1880s by Hanoteau, whose members live in the village of Roses and come to work in Briet (Nièvre), on the Hanoteau property. From the late 1880s to the early 1900s, Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes spent part of the year in Paris. He appeared at the Paris Salon and obtained an honorable mention in 1898. In 1899, the sculptor Alix Marquet created his bust, later given to the Nevers museum. In 1900, he was appointed academy officer.
Paul Louis Martin and his wife settled in Nevers, perhaps in 1903. The artist exhibited at the Nivernais artistic emulation group from 1908 to 1914 and from 1921 to 1924. In 1920, the Nevers museum bought from him the painting La Revenderie, exhibited at the Salon of 1898, which represents a market in Nevers. The artist also sells his works to German, Dutch, Swiss and American collectors. Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes died in 1925 at his home. The city of Nevers gives one of its streets the name of the artist. Several of the paintings of Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes entered the collections of the Nevers museum during the 20th century and into the 21st century.
Public collections.
Museum of Earthenware and Fine Arts of Nevers
Jean-Jaurès de Nevers Media Library:
Saint-Benin-d’Azy town hall:
Recent exhibition.
2017: Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes exhibition, reflections of a Nivernais collection, at the Marzy museum.
