Victor Oscar GUÉTIN (1872-1916). - Lot 368

Victor Oscar GUÉTIN (1872-1916). "Woman knitting". Oil on canvas signed and dated 06 lower right. Accents and restorations. Dimensions: 50 x 40 cm. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1889, studying under Jules Lefebvre, Benjamin-Constant and Tony Robert-Fleury. From 1898, he took part in competitions organized by the school, including the prestigious Prix de Rome, with La piscine de Bethsaïda (Vendôme, Musée Municipal), for which he was awarded a "second second grand prix". He won a first second grand prix the following year with Hercules entre le Vice et la Vertu, but did not win the Prix de Rome until 1902 with La résurrection de la fille de Jaïre. This prize enabled him to stay at the Villa Médicis in Rome, for a reduced period of three years. He sends several compositions to Paris as statutory consignments. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français from 1898, when he received an honorable mention for his paintings Dans un grenier and Enterrement dans une mosquée au Caire. He won a third-class medal in 1902 for Saint Vincent de Paul, and a second-class medal in 1908 for En famille. He also won the Prix Jean-Jacques Henner in 1909 for his painting Après le bain. Victor Guétin also served as a model for his friend Adolphe Déchenaud (1868-1928) for his painting "Les trois amis", currently on display at the Musée des Beaux-arts in Rouen. He died prematurely at the age of 44, following an illness contracted during his mobilization at the front during the First World War.