Antoine Guillemet (French painter) 1841 - 1918
Guillemet was a pupil of Corot and Oudinot. He made his Salon debut in 1865. His work, which reflects his masters’ teachings, earned him numerous awards and distinctions: a jury commendation at the Salon of 1872, second-class medal in 1874 and 1876, and a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1880, an Officier in 1896, and a Commander in 1910. He won a medal in Munich in 1905. His work was nonethless criticised by Manet, who found fault with his excessively heavy and vigorous approach. As a member of the Impressionist group, it was Guillemet (together with Duranty) who introduced Manet to Emile Zola. Perhaps surprisingly, it was also Guillemet – a highly bourgeois figure – who succeeded in getting a painting by Cézanne accepted for the Salon of 1882. The catalogue reads: Cézanne, pupil of Guillemet (Cézanne, élève de Guillemet).
