Details

Name

Eugène Pertuiset

Brief Biography

1833–1909, Swiss/French

Occupation

Explorer; arms dealer; engineer; big-game hunter

Description

Eugène Pertuiset was the owner of the French painting 'The Ham' or 'Le Jambon' by Édouard Manet in Glasgow Museums.

A larger than life personality, Pertuiset was a renowned explorer, traveller, writer, engineer, big-game hunter, arms dealer and collector of paintings. His fortune was founded on selling arms to the Chilean government who, impressed by his adventurous spirit, provided him with funds for a scientific mission to Tierra del Fuego. In 1873 the expedition crossed the Strait of Magellan at Baie Gente Grande, which he claimed for Chile. Several other expeditions followed, including one to Dawson Island where deposits of coal and gold were discovered.

Returning to Europe, he enjoyed acclaim in France as an adventurer, for his lion hunting in Algeria and, more particularly, as a 'bon vivant par excellence' and a close friend of Manet and his circle.

On their mutual friend, Edmond Duranty's death, Manet told Pertuiset: 'It's odd, but every time someone mentions poor Duranty's name, I seem to see him beckoning me to join him.'