Les Haras Nationaux 1989
BIOGRAPHY:
Hubert de Watrigant was born in 1954 and brought up in South West France where his father bred and trained racehorses. He inherited natural artistic talent from his maternal great grandmother, a landscape artist in the nineteenth century, and his paternal great uncle.
The de Watrigant family had an inbred passion for horses and it was natural, therefore, that his artistic career should begin by sketching horses in his father's stables. At school he drew ceaselessly in the margins of his sketchbooks.
On leaving school he joined the Army to serve his year of National Service. He then moved to Paris and began to earn a living through various different jobs, although he continued to draw and paint in his spare time, enabling him to exhibit in various small shows. In 1976 de Watrigant decided to become a full-time professional artist, holding his first one-man exhibition at Maisons-Lafitte. In 1977 he entered Les Sept Collines de Rome exhibition. He won first prize.
De Watrigant uses a wide range of materials including charcoal, pastels, watercolour and oils and works on many different surfaces. His draughtsmanship is outstanding and he has a remarkable ability to capture both the ambience of his subjects and the drama of a fleeting moment.
Influences on de Watrigant's work include Delacroix, Géricault, and principally, René Princeteau, the first teacher of Toulouse-Lautrec, who de Watrigant admires for his fine draughtsmanship.
His career was helped at the start by his family contacts in the racing world, but the quality of his work was such that he soon became recognized as one of France's leading equestrian artists. As testament to his talent his work now features in numerous private and public collections in England, Japan and the Emirates. Private collectors include Her Majesty The Queen, as well as many of the leading connoisseurs of equestrian art, including Baron Guy de Rothschild, the late Stavros Niarchos and the late Daniel Wildenstein. In America he has been commissioned by a number of stud farms including Spendthrift Farm, Gainesway and Calumet.
The de Watrigant family had an inbred passion for horses and it was natural, therefore, that his artistic career should begin by sketching horses in his father's stables. At school he drew ceaselessly in the margins of his sketchbooks.
On leaving school he joined the Army to serve his year of National Service. He then moved to Paris and began to earn a living through various different jobs, although he continued to draw and paint in his spare time, enabling him to exhibit in various small shows. In 1976 de Watrigant decided to become a full-time professional artist, holding his first one-man exhibition at Maisons-Lafitte. In 1977 he entered Les Sept Collines de Rome exhibition. He won first prize.
De Watrigant uses a wide range of materials including charcoal, pastels, watercolour and oils and works on many different surfaces. His draughtsmanship is outstanding and he has a remarkable ability to capture both the ambience of his subjects and the drama of a fleeting moment.
Influences on de Watrigant's work include Delacroix, Géricault, and principally, René Princeteau, the first teacher of Toulouse-Lautrec, who de Watrigant admires for his fine draughtsmanship.
His career was helped at the start by his family contacts in the racing world, but the quality of his work was such that he soon became recognized as one of France's leading equestrian artists. As testament to his talent his work now features in numerous private and public collections in England, Japan and the Emirates. Private collectors include Her Majesty The Queen, as well as many of the leading connoisseurs of equestrian art, including Baron Guy de Rothschild, the late Stavros Niarchos and the late Daniel Wildenstein. In America he has been commissioned by a number of stud farms including Spendthrift Farm, Gainesway and Calumet.
WATRIGANT FOR HERMÈS:
Les Haras Nationaux 1989, photo credit: Pauillac
Hubert de Watrigant has worked for Hermès on a regular basis since 1989 and is one of its iconic illustrators, the chairman of the French company, Jean-Louis Dumas talked about his experience with the artist and his work this way:
“Some people lighten us. Their Talents open up your eye, carry you away, deprive you from with delicacy of your everyday inhibition mask and reduce your anesthesia. For several years, I have had the privilege to observe Hubert de Watrigant moving forward in the free but rocky way of artists and illustrators. Guided by instinct, he has trusted his stroke, has merged into his spontaneous watercolors. He based his work on Horses, Hunt dogs and especially on Bulls and on those who, in the bullfight, dance to death with them.
Confronting his search for truthfulness in the harmony of life to the shock of emotions that bullfighting leads him to, he drew from his clever and graceful hand the strength to create series of amazing and engaging pictures. . The carrés that were born from his collaboration with our firm honor Hermes’ label and give it a supplement of elegance"
During so many years of collaboration, Watrigant has designed several scarves for La Maison, here you are a complete list of his works that I'll be presenting in the next weeks:
Les Haras Nationaux 1989
Carnaval de Venise (Fetes Venitiennes) 1993
Plaza de Toros 1993
Le Poitevin 1993
Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre 1996
Feria de Sevilla 1996
Ombrelles et Parapluies 1998
Musee Vivant du Cheval 2002
Un Siecle de Courses a Deauville 2003
Dans les Branches del’Ombu 2005
Lujo Criollo 2005
Croquis Champs de Courses 2007
Ballet Equestre 2007
Les Chevaux Quataries 2008
Les Poneys de Polo 2010
Hubert de Watrigant is basically an equestrian artist, his work has been exhibited in many galleries around the globe and his pictures are very coveted by equestrian art collectors:
As a horse painter, he has designed several of the most beautiful Hermès scarves based on equestrian theme. Les Haras Nationaux is the first profile I'd like to present, thank you very much to dear Pauillac who lend me her pictures:
Hubert de Watrigant
First Issue: 1989
Catalogued: 4C
If you want more information about Hubert de Watrigant, visit his web page:http://www.hubertdewatrigant.com/
You may also be interested in learn more about Les Haras Nationaux, this is its site:http://www.haras-nationaux.fr/
Next week, I am presenting a new profile: Carnaval de Venise (Fetes Venitiennes) 1993, by the same author, feel free to email me any pictures of this scarf you would like me to post.
BkM - I am still so thrilled you decided to do this blog! Not only is it full of details unknown to me, it's beautifully written and designed!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Les Haras was his first scarf. It's one of the scarves that I bought in the early days when my whole "collection" would fit in the tiniest drawer. I still love this scarf today and for the same reasons I chose it so many years ago.
Love,
P
Many many thanks for this beautiful post, dear Birkinmary. Can't tell you how much I enjoyed it, and am looking tremendously forward to the next installments. Mille merci also to Pauillac, it was such a treat to see your beautiful Les Haras. Much love, MT x
ReplyDeletePauillac, thank you so much for your generosity in lending me the pictures of your Les Haras, I tried to do my best using them in a collage. The first scarf is always something very special, in your case you already knew how to choose one with excellent sense. Love. BkM
ReplyDeleteMaiTai, thank you for your comments, I'll be posting on Le Carnaval de Venise next week and then I intend to post an entire chapter on Spanish themed scarves, so happy you liked it! xoxo BkM
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to read about Hubert! I have 4 (but owned 5) Carnevales/Fetes Venitiennes so I will send you some photos! I hope you will be able to dig up some info on Aline Honore! Thanks again, SAx
ReplyDeleteThank you Scarf Addict, I knew you are a strong admirer of this design and everything related to Venice, I perfectly remember your pics from the last year. Thank you so much for the pictures, I bet you will enjoy my next post! I love the idea of review A.Honore, good idea! Love.
ReplyDelete