🖌️🎨 André-Henri Dargelas (1828–1906)

 🖌️🎨 André-Henri Dargelas (1828–1906) was a French watercolorist and designer of the realist movement.
From 1850, his works enjoyed particular success in Great Britain after an enthusiastic review by the English art critic John Ruskin, who praised Dargelas's sentimental vision of a typical childhood.
From 1857, he began exhibiting his works at the Paris Salon.
His painting style and subject matter were influenced by the lessons of Chardin, who was very popular in France at the time.
In the second half of his life, he moved from Paris to Écouen, where he founded the École d'Écouen, which was joined by various artists. His father-in-law was the French realist artist Théophile Emmanuel Duverger.
Dargelas and his students dedicated themselves to representing the lower social classes.
The main themes are scenes from everyday life, mainly images of children.
In particular, the recurring theme of the school indicates the importance that the artist attaches to mass education.

🕸️ Source: papytane.com, MutualArt