Émile Dezaunay (1854 - 1938)

"Mass in Bannalec

Etching, group of women in Sunday best in front of a church. All wear the "giz fouenn" headdress, a Fouesnant fashion. ( 70x61cm with frame )

Émile Alfred Marie Dezaunay was a French painter and engraver, born February 25, 1854, and died June 4, 1938. He is known for his talent in watercolor and engraving. His most intense creative period was between 1892 and 1909. Born in Nantes into a wealthy family, he was raised by his mother, widowed in 1857. Jules-Elie Delaunay, a painter from Nantes, encouraged Émile Alfred Dezaunay to enter the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, which he did in 1875 at the age of 19. During his training, he was a pupil of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.

In the early 1880s, Émile Alfred Dezaunay returned to his hometown, where he married in 1884 and took part in the Triennial Exhibition of Fine Arts in Nantes two years later. On this occasion, he met Maxime Maufra. They became close friends and explored new horizons, notably in Brittany...