| Albert Rigolot paintings are masterful renditions of luminous landscapes. He particularly enjoyed portraying riverscapes and landscape scenes; he found a solemnity and wholesomeness in their environment. He shared the same philosophy of the Barbizon painters, rendering his oeuvre with a naturalistic approach, concentrating on the effects of light as it shined through the trees onto the riverbanks. He was admired for this naturalism (as stated in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, The Salon of 1896, August 1896, Vol. II, pg. 103):
Rigolot is among the artists, who clearly demonstrate, the importance of the artist’s refusal to let his skill with the paintbrush interfere with the instruction of his spirit.
Rigolot was born on November 28, 1862 in Paris. He began his art studies at the Parisian School located in the 16th district on rue Singer. Shortly thereafter, he became a student of Leon G. Pelouse and Auguste Allongé; who guided him in an extensive exploration of his medium.
Rigolot exhibited his first work at the Paris Salon in 1886 and would continue to exhibit at the Salon for much of his career. In 1889 he received an Honorable Mention, a bronze medal in 1891, a silver medal in 1892, a silver medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, and became a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1901.
He achieved great freedom in his work, displaying flexibility of tones, especially in his depictions of the harvest and landscape scenes of Algeria. Influenced as well by his association with the Society of French Orientalists; he sought the brightness of the African light and strove to capture it in his work, thereby creating a luminous haven.
Soliel Levant dans la Brume is an intensely atmospheric composition encompassing breathtaking tonality and the haze of an early morning sunrise. While the structure of the landscape is painted in a realistic manner, its vapor and mist remains abstract and sparkling. This work is an important example of Rigolot’s ability to sense and then create mystical and luminous landscapes.
Rigolot died on April 25, 1932.
Among his many Paris Salon exhibited works are:
Fin juillet (1890)
Matinée de septembre dans la vallée de Chevreuse (1890)
Après la moisson; - Gâtinais (1891)
L’hiver; - forêt de Fontainebleau (1891)
Carrière de Saint-Maximin; - Oise (1892)
La mare aux Fées; - forêt de Fontainebleau (1892)
La batteuse; - Loiret (1893)
Vents d’Est; - Méditerranée (1893)
Sur la lagune; Venise (1907)
Matinée de septembre (1907)
Soirée d’automne (1908)
Soliel Levant dans la Brume (1908)
Soir d’octobre; vallée de la Somme(1909)
Lever de lune a Fontaine-sur-Somme (1909)
Matinée sur la Laïta; Finistère (1910)
Couchant; - vallée de la Somme (1910)
Solitude (1911)
Automne dans les marais de la Somme (1911)
Fin d’automne (1912)
Déclin du jour (1912)
Matinée de décembre (1913)
Soliel Levant dans la Brume (1913)
Equinoxe d’automne (1914)
Le matin a Heudreville (1914)
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