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Auguste Bouvard was born Eloi Noel Beraud in St. Jean-de-Bournay, Isere-France in 1882. His early artistic education was undertaken at l’École des Beaux Arts in Paris where he spent three years on a scholarship. While in school, Bouvard studied art and architecture under Constant-Dufeus. Bouvard became the Director of Architectural Services for the Seine and was responsible for the construction in Paris of the Bourse du Travail and the Boulevard Morland.
Bouvard began taking study trips throughout Europe where he painted the landscapes of the South and the Mediterranean coastline under the name Marc Aldine and Pelletier (his wife’s name). Most of his output went through a dealer in Paris who recommended that he consider Venice as a subject matter. His career took a very successful turn when he began painting Venetian scenes with a unique sense of lighting and an eye catching colour palette. Gladwell and Company held the first one-man exhibition of his work in Britain in the 1930s, and Bouvard was honoured by the late Queen Mary who purchased several examples of his work.
Bouvard’s compositions are very similar to those of Canaletto and Guardi. Like these artists, he captures the romantic atmosphere of Venice to perfection but with a warmer and more colourful feeling. Examples of his work can be found in collections throughout Europe and America. His son Antoine Bouvard, born in 1913, also painted Venetian scenes but in a more modern, impressionistic style. Auguste Bouvard died in 1956.