Count Albert Gustavus de Belleroche (1864-1944), also known as Albert Belleroche, was a Welsh painter and lithographer, who lived most of his childhood and his adulthood in Paris and England.
He began as a painter, but at the turn of the century focused on lithography, for which he is most well-known. He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre de Leopold by King Albert I of Belgium in 1933.
John Singer Sargent | Portrait of Albert de Belleroche, 1882
Career and personal life
In 1882, Belleroche studied briefly at Carolus-Duran's art school in Paris, preferring to study the masters like Johannes Vermeer and Sandro Botticelli at museums.
Belleroche was a friend and studio-mate of John Singer Sargent in Paris and London, with the men making many sketches and paintings of each other.
Some of the works that Sargent made of Belleroche are suggestive of an emotional relationship between the men and Belleroche may have been the love of Sargent's life.
Dorothy Moss, an art historian, states "Sargent's portraits of Belleroche, in their sensuality and intensity of emotion, push the boundaries of what was considered appropriate interaction between men at this period".
John Singer Sargent | Portrait of Albert de Belleroche, 1882
Belleroche was financially independent and did not need or desire to obtain work through commissions.
Instead, he chose whom he would paint, which included Japanese wrestler Taro Miyake; Olympia - Edgar Degas's model; Mata Hari and dancer Cha-U-Kao.
He then sought to be more independent of Sargent's artistic influence, and was possibly affected by the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 that criminalised sexual relationships between men and was used in 1895 against Oscar Wilde, who was a friend of Belleroche and Sargent.
Belleroche took a studio in Montmartre in Paris, and in 1900 transitioned from painting in oil to creating lithographs, predominantly of women.
He created his works using wax crayon on stone.
He entered into a ten-year relationship with Lili Grenier, who modeled for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
At the Salon d'Automne in 1904, a room was dedicated to his paintings and lithographs.
In 1910, Belleroche married Julie Emilie Visseaux, whose father was sculptor Jules Edouard Visseaux.
Due to Grenier's jealous behavior, Belleroche and his wife moved to England, first living with his mother in St John's Wood, Westminster.
In 1912, they moved to West Hampstead and six years later, they moved to Rustington, Sussex.
The couple had a daughter Alice and two sons, Harry and William.
Belleroche became a master lithographer.
Artist Frank Brangwyn said that "no one else has succeeded in making lithography the rival of painting".
He developed a method of detecting forged watermarks in 1915.
Belleroche's work tapered off after World War I.
Later years and death
A retrospective exhibition was held in 1933 at the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels of 291 lithographs.
Belleroche received the Chevalier de l’Ordre de Leopold from King Albert I of Belgium at that time.
Belleroche moved to Southwell, Nottinghamshire when the English coast began to be bombed during World War II.
His wife and daughter Alice were with him at the Crown Hotel and he kept a small studio in town.
He suffered from a long illness before he died in Southwell on 14 July 1944.
He was buried in Southwell Minster churchyard; the funeral was officiated by his friend, J. P. Hales, Archdeacon of Newark.
His son, William assumed the French title of count.
His wife died in 1958 and was also buried at Southwell. | Source: © Wikipedia
Il conte Albert Gustavus de Belleroche (1864-1944), noto anche come Albert Belleroche, è stato un pittore e litografo Gallese, che visse gran parte della sua infanzia e della sua età adulta a Parigi ed in Inghilterra.
Iniziò come pittore, ma all'inizio del secolo si concentrò sulla litografia, per la quale è più noto.
Nel 1933 venne insignito del titolo di Chevalier de l'Ordre de Leopold dal re Alberto I del Belgio.
Nel 1882, Belleroche studiò brevemente alla scuola d'arte Carolus-Duran a Parigi, preferendo studiare nei musei dei maestri come Johannes Vermeer e Sandro Botticelli.
Belleroche era un amico e compagno di studio di John Singer Sargent a Parigi e Londra, con gli uomini che realizzavano molti schizzi e dipinti l'uno dell'altro.
Alcune delle opere che Sargent ha realizzato su Belleroche suggeriscono una relazione emotiva tra gli uomini e Belleroche potrebbe essere stato l'amore della vita di Sargent.
Dorothy Moss, storica dell'arte, afferma che "i ritratti di Belleroche di Sargent, nella loro sensualità e l'intensità di emozioni, spingono i confini di quella che era considerata un'interazione appropriata tra gli uomini in questo periodo".
Belleroche era finanziariamente indipendente e non aveva bisogno né desiderio di ottenere lavoro tramite commissioni.
Invece, scelse chi avrebbe dipinto, incluso il wrestler giapponese Taro Miyake, Olympia, la modella di Edgar Degas, Mata Hari ed il ballerino Cha-U-Kao.
Cercò quindi di essere più indipendente dall'influenza artistica di Sargent, e fu probabilmente influenzato dall'emendamento Labouchere del 1885 che criminalizzava i rapporti sessuali tra uomini e fu usato nel 1895 contro Oscar Wilde, he era amico di Belleroche e Sargent.
Belleroche divenne un maestro litografo.
L'artista Frank Brangwyn ha affermato che "nessun altro è riuscito a rendere la litografia rivale della pittura".
Nel 1915 sviluppò un metodo per rilevare filigrane contraffatte.
Il lavoro di Belleroche diminuì dopo la prima guerra mondiale.
Nel 1933 si tenne una mostra retrospettiva presso la Bibliothèque Royale di Bruxelles di 291 litografie.
Belleroche ricevette allora l'onorificenza di Chevalier de l'Ordre de Leopold dal re Alberto I del Belgio. | Fonte: © British Wikipedia
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