Gaston Casimir Saint-Pierre
French, 1833-1916
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Gaston Casimir Saint-Pierre was a painter of genre, portraits and mythological scenes in both oils and pastel. He was born in Nîmes on May 12, 1833 and commenced his studies with Charles François Jalabert (1819-1901) and Léon Cogniet (1794-1880). As mentors, these two artists instilled in Saint-Pierre their solid knowledge of academic painting and technique.
Saint-Pierre made his debut at the Paris Salon of 1861 with the present work, and the original exhibition label with the Salon number ‘2779’ remains affixed to the top front of the frame. Saint-Pierre continued to show at the Paris Salon regularly for the next fifty years. He became a member in 1883 and was later to sit on both the committee and jury. He was awarded a second-class medal in 1879 and bestowed the Legion d’Honneur in 1881, becoming an officer in 1903.
Like many of his colleagues during this time, Saint-Pierre travelled to Algeria where he became familiar with the culture of North Africa, which influenced his later Orientalist works. During his long career, he was awarded commissions to decorate the foyer of the theater in Nîmes, the choir of the Cathedral of d’Oran, and the celling of the restaurant of Train Bleu in Paris, located near the gare de Lyon. Saint-Pierre died in Paris in 1916.