An incredible acquisition: "Voyage de la Sainte Famille en Egypte" by Georges Och

 

Georges Och, a great unknown

Georges Och was a French landscape painter , born in 1798. To date, little is known about the life and work of this artist who frequented the theatre and official salons during the Restoration and the July Monarchy.

He is listed in several dictionaries of artists, which present him as a landscape painter, a student of Ciceri ^. In 1831, Och lived at 50, quai de la Mégisserie, in Paris ^. In 1844 and 1848, he exhibited three landscapes at the Salon, before moving to 68 rue des Granges, in ^Besançon .

Georges Och, The Holy Family's Journey to Egypt

Detail of the painting by Georges Och

Georges Och was primarily a landscape painter. He was particularly interested in historical landscapes , a genre appreciated at the Salon and in official circles. In 1844, he sent to the Salon "Landscape with Animals" and "A Chalet, View Taken at Thun (Canton of Bern)," a souvenir of a trip to Switzerland ⁴ "Journey of the Holy Family to Egypt, Historical Landscape" appears as number 3472 in the catalogue ⁵ </sup> Finally, among his best-known works, two panoramic landscapes are frequently cited: "The Traveling Panorama" and "A View of Paris, Taken from the Top of the Towers of Notre-Dame . <sup>⁶

 

Georges Och, student of Ciceri

Pierre-Luc Charles Ciceri (1782-1868) is one of the most illustrious theatrical designers of the 19th century. A skilled landscape painter, Ciceri trained from 1804 in the painting studio of the Paris Opera under the direction of Degotti and then Isabey, and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1815, he was appointed chief painter, a title rarely given to a landscape painter, which he held until his retirement in 1848. In addition to the Opéra, Ciceri participated in the creation of sets for major Parisian and provincial theaters, while also accepting commissions from private individuals.

 

In addition to restoring antique settings, Ciceri developed models of landscape decoration that served as references. He imagined astonishing historical, mythical, or ancient settings imbued with decorative luxury resulting from historical research.

The Romantic era developed a new idea of ​​theatre, where the staging of the text became paramount. Costume designers and set designers explored various aspects such as historical accuracy , local color (exoticism) , and topographical realism . Plays like Alexandre Dumas's "Henri III et sa sœur," Vigny's "Le More de Venise," and Victor Hugo's "Hernani" featured sets based on historically documented models by Ciceri.

Around 1817, Ciceri opened his own painting studio. He founded a consortium of scenic painters who worked for all the major theaters in Paris: the Théâtre Italien, the Comédie-Française, the Odéon, the Gymnase, and the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin. Located in the workshops of the Opéra in the Faubourg Poissonnière, his studios welcomed all the future great decorators of the century: Charles Séchan, Édouard Despléchin, Jules Diéterle, and Léon Feuchère. During the years 1833-1839, some of these young decorators set up their own studios, partnering with other decorators working in the workshops of the Opéra and the Comédie-Française. After his bankruptcy in 1848, Ciceri's son and sons-in-law took over the management of the studio.

Surprisingly, neither Barry Daniels ^nor Nicole Wild ^, two leading authors on theatrical design during the Romantic era, mention Georges Och among Ciceri's pupils. Och's time in Ciceri's workshop was probably brief. The absence of his name can also be explained by a common practice at the time: sets created in workshops under the direction of a head set designer often made no mention of students. Finally, if Och does not appear as a set designer or collaborator of Ciceri or any of his pupils who later formed their own workshops, it is because he did not follow in his master's footsteps as a decorative painter, but instead turned to landscape painting.

The only known decorative project by Georges Och to date is the ceiling of the Théâtre de La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland, which he created in 1837 in collaboration with the decorator Jean-Louis Chenillon. It is composed of 12 velum panels depicting orientalizing female figures: eight muses from Greek mythology and three personifications of the arts.⁹.

 

Theatrical scenery and its influence on the work of Georges Och

Although Georges Och did not explicitly pursue theatrical design, his work was inspired by it. His paintings share several similarities with theatrical decoration , and more specifically with the work of Ciceri.

First, there was his taste for landscape . Like his master, Och loved sweeping panoramas. Ciceri had painted views of the Pyrenees, Italy, and Switzerland, some of which were exhibited at the Salon ^. He also contributed illustrations to the edition of "Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France" (Picturesque and Romantic Journeys in Old France), a large illustrated travelogue published under the direction of Baron Taylor (1789-1879), which inspired some of his settings. Initially a landscape painter, Ciceri remained so throughout his career. He brought this genre to its zenith and set an example for the younger generation.

With his "Journey of the Holy Family to Egypt," Och follows in the tradition of historical landscape painting , favored by the Academy and official circles ^¹¹ According to academic ideology, nature should serve as the setting for historical, mythological, or biblical scenes. The impressive canvas size is typical of history painting, of the "grand genre .

Historical painting was very popular in France during the 1830s and 1840s, notably represented by Delaroche and Boulanger. In a realistic style, based on archaeological research, Romantic painters depicted subjects of emotion, of an intimate or domestic nature.

In the theater, the taste for historical accuracy led to spectacular productions. Ciceri painted astonishing, realistic reconstructions for historical plays. Georges Och must have learned the importance of historical fidelity , realism , and local color . Indeed, the models from Ciceri's workshop are notable for their precision of detail and meticulous reconstructions. But Ciceri's work retained both a poetic and theatrical quality , which is also found in Och's large canvas, "The Holy Family's Journey to Egypt." Here, the landscape is imaginary, a reinterpreted Egyptian setting, imbued with local color but in a realistic style, where every detail is rendered with precision.

 

 

Yet, despite the demands of historical accuracy, Romantic decorators remained highly attuned to fantasy. (Deliberate) errors and anachronisms often crept into their compositions. Thus, styles from different periods and cultures can be found on the same canvas or monument, while still maintaining a certain homogeneity. In his " Journey of the Holy Family to Egypt ," Och juxtaposes Egyptian architectural settings adorned with hieroglyphs, sphinxes, and obelisks with lush vegetation featuring palm trees and Tuscan trees.

 

 

[1] Ch. Gabet, 1831, Bellier de la Chavignerie, 1882-1885.

[2] Ch. Gabet, 1831.

[3] Bellier de la Chavignerie, 1882-1885.

[4] Explanation of the works of painting and drawings, sculpture, architecture and engraving of living artists exhibited at the Royal Museum on March 15, 1844 , Paris, Vinchon, 1844.

[5] Explanation of the works of painting and drawings, sculpture, architecture and engraving of living artists exhibited at the National Museum of the Louvre on March 15, 1848 , Paris, Vinchon, 1848.

[6] Ch. Gabet, 1831, Bellier de la Chavignerie, 1882-1885, Bénézit, 1956-1961

[7] Barry Daniels, 2003.

[8] Nicole Wild, 1987 and 1993.

[9] LAURENTI WYSS, Lisa, 2011; Yvonne Tissot, 2003.

[10] JOIN-DIÉTERLE, Catherine, 1988.

[11] The historical landscape has been the subject of a Grand Prix de Rome since 1827.

 

Bibliography

• Explanation of the works of painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture and engraving of living artists exhibited at the Royal Museum on March 15, 1844 , Paris, Vinchon, 1844.
• Explanation of the works of painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture and engraving of living artists exhibited at the National Museum of the Louvre on March 15, 1848 , Paris, Vinchon, 1848.
• BELLIER DE LA CHAVIGNERIE, Emile, General Dictionary of Artists of the French School from the Origin of the Arts of Drawing to the Present Day: Architects, Painters, Sculptors, Engravers and Lithographers , work begun by Émile Bellier de La Chavignerie; continued by Louis Auvray, Paris, Librairie Renouard, 1882-1885.
• BENEZIT, Emmanuel, Critical and documentary dictionary of painters, sculptors, draftsmen and engravers of all times and all countries. Volume III. LZ , Paris, Gründ, 1956-1961.
• DANIELS, Barry Vincent, Theatrical decor in the Romantic era: catalogue raisonné of the decors of the Comédie-Française, 1799-1848 , based on documents preserved in the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Comédie-Française, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2003.
• GABET, Charles, Dictionary of artists of the French school in the 19th century , Paris, Chez Madame Vergne Libraire, 1831.
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