Andre Henri Dargelas

French 1828

André Henri Dargelas was a genre painter. He was born in Bordeaux on 11 October 1828. He entered l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1854 and began exhibiting at the Paris Salon in the same year.

A regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon, Dargelas was beloved during his lifetime for his sentimental and playful depictions of children. Groups of happy boys and girls playing youthful games in charming rural landscapes were favoured compositions of the artist.

Dargelas, following in the Victorian tradition, was a master of the narrative or “story” picture. He secured his success by appealing to the sentimental attachment to woodlands and pasture of the burgeoning bourgeoisie, many of whom resided in the suburbs of industrial towns. Dargelas’ works provided a delightful escapism from everyday life by mirroring the playfulness and wonder of childhood.