The Archway

In this drawing, Angeniol depicts the gothic architecture of an ecclesiastical building. Our attention is drawn to the saintly statue to the right of an entryway to a foreboding corridor. It is as if the saint is watching over us before we embark into the unknown. The angular corners of the architecture exemplify Angéniol's desire to capture the serene, inner life of contemporary France, contrasting sharply with the work of his contemporaries, such as the impressionists.

Henri Charles Angéniol

Henri Charles Angéniol was a portrait, landscape and still life painter. Born in France in 1870, Angéniol trained at the Beaux Arts de Lyon and, at the age of 22, took lessons from the painter Tony Tollet. He briefly joined the workshop of Gustave Moreau, where he honed his skills and developed his unique style.

His presence at the salons of the Société Lyonnaise des Beaux-Arts was almost continuous, and he achieved the “hors-concours” status, a testament to his exceptional talent. The press praised the quality of his work, noting his applied and careful touch, which beautifully served the charm of his subjects.

Angéniol also exhibited in Paris at the Salon des Artistes français from 1901 to 1914. His work can be read, in its apparent simplicity, as a painting of intimacy amplified by his technical ability, quality drawing, and a marked attention to colour, capturing the life of silence, which contrasted with the external focus of decorators and impressionists of his time.

Angéniol died on the 2nd of April 1959, in Barcelona Spain.