Details

Name

Gustave Tempelaere

Brief Biography

1840–1904, French

Occupation

Art dealer

Description

The art dealer Gustave Tempelaere opened his premises at 28 rue Laffitte, Paris in October 1868, concentrating particularly on the works of Courbet, Corot, Daubigny and Bonvin. He was introduced to the artist Fantin-Latour by the collector Charles Ricada, on 28 December 1887 at the funeral of their mutual friend Francois Bonvin. Tempelaere had signed a contract with Bonvin and had been a great support to him in difficult times. As Fantin-Latour was also having trouble in gaining both academic and public recognition for his work, it can come as no surprise that shortly after their first meeting, Tempelaere became Fantin-Latour’s dealer and agent in Paris, purchasing many of the artist’s imaginative 'sketches' and protecting his interests as he had done Bonvin’s.
Tempelaere assisted Fantin-Latour to make rapid headway in the French market. Still life painting in the eyes of the Salon was on the low rung of the artistic hierarchical subject matter ladder and prior to Tempelaere’s stewardship, Fantin-Latour’s biggest market had been in England.
On a visit to Fantin-Latour’s holiday home at Bure, in Normandy, Tempelaere recorded the artist’s working methods by describing in detail his material preparations and the design and arrangement of his compositions.
Gustave Tempelaere died in 1904, the same year as Fantin-Latour, and was succeeded in his business by both his sons, Ferdinand and Julien, who renamed the business 'Galerie F&J Tempelaere'.
His sons continued the, by now posthumous, link with Fantin-Latour by organizing a centenary exhibition of his work in his birthplace of Grenoble in 1936.