A Major Force During a Time of Change

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes - The Poor Fisherman - 1881- Oil on canvas - 5’ 1" x 6' 3 3/4" (155 x 192.5 cm) - Musee d'Orsay, Paris (click photo for larger image)French artist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898) was a painter who became the president and co-founder of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and whose work influenced a great many other artists. “The Poor Fisherman was the first of Puvis de Chavannes' paintings to be bought by the State. But the work sparked a lively reaction at the Salon of 1881 and was not bought until 1887 when it was again shown to the public by the art dealer Durand-Ruel. So it took six years for a national museum to dare to show this radical painting that was so unrealistic in the light of the conventions of the time.” - Musee d’Orsay