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Pension Gloanec
The Pension Gloanec was a pension in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France, that was a base for artists of the Pont-Aven School in the last half of the 19th century. It was known for economical but excellent quality food, where the diners served themselves from shared dishes set out on a long table in the dining room. There were few rooms, so most of the artists boarded elsewhere in the town. Its most famous resident was Paul Gauguin who stayed several times between 1886 and 1894. Today the building houses a bookstore, gallery and exhibition space.
Pont-Aven was "discovered" in 1864 by the American painter Henry Bacon (1839–1912). Two American art students, Earl Shinn (1838–1886) and Howard Roberts (1843–1900), arrived in Paris in the spring on 1866 and applied for admission to the École des Beaux-Arts. Their teacher in Philadelphia, Robert Wylie (1839–1877), had encouraged them to visit Pont-Aven in the summer. Word spread, and about twelve American and English artists spent the summer of 1866 in the village. The villager were friendly to the artists, found them studio space in the run-down Château de Lezaven, and were glad to pose for them.
The painters appreciated the beauty of the surrounding landscape and the low living costs. They would use barns or sheds as studios. A growing number of foreign artists returned year after year, and some settled more or less permanently. French artists began to visit the village in the mid- to late 1870s. The village became fashionable with members of the Salon in Paris. The artists stayed at the Hôtel des Voyageurs or the Pension Gloanec, or else found lodgings in the villagers' houses.
The Pension Gloanec was opened in 1860 by Marie-Jeanne Gloanec (1839–1915) and Joseph Gloanec (1829–1906). Marie-Jeanne Morvant, later known as "La Mère Gloanec", was born on 8 February 1839 in Pont-Aven, daughter of a tailor and a chambermaid. Some time later her father opened a small inn, where Marie-Jeanne learned the trade. Her future husband was born on 10 March 1829 in Pont-Scorff.
Both Joseph and Marie-Jeanne Gloanec were almost illiterate. Joseph Gloanec worked as a sawyer and mill repairer before they opened the inn. Arthur Hoeber (1854–1915) described him as a "prince of scoundrels and incomparable idlers, with a halo of vague and misty tales of his early life as a smuggler and wrecker on the wild coast nearby, never quite authenticated, but giving him much distinction and interest." Birge Harrison (1854–1929) described Marie Jeanne Gloanec as a "dear, wizened, motherly woman. She was an excellent cook, and took great pleasure in the company of her artists.
The Pension Gloanec was at the entrance to the Pont-Aven village square. There were few rooms for rent, and most of the artists lived elsewhere in the town and only ate at the pension. The auberge had only two rooms on the ground floor. At the front the kitchen-living room was entered from the square, and had a large fireplace. Corwin Knapp Linson (1864–1959) said the kitchen had two great Breton beds on either side of the fireside in which the mistress and her maids slept. He wrote that the "time honoured fireplace was framed in a blazonment of brass and copper utensils which blinked, flashed, glowed according to ever changing humour of light."
Behind the kitchen was the dining room, where food was served "to fatten you on the spot". The dining room was lined with beams and floorboards, drawings and studies. The work of the regular guests covered the walls of the kitchen and dining room, depicting the local men and women who posed for the artists. The patronnes would often extend credit to the artists, or accept paintings as payment, and the artists were proud to have their work accepted and displayed. In this way, the Gloanecs acquired a major collection.
The painter Édouard Girardet (1819–1880) described the pension in 1876, when Aloysius O'Kelly (1853–1936) was staying there, as the rowdiest of the inns compared to the Hôtel des Voyageurs, favored by the Americans and the Hôtel du Lion d'Or, favored by the French. Thomas Hovenden stayed in the pension at that time, as did the American brothers Alexander and Birge Harrison.
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Pension Gloanec
The Pension Gloanec was a pension in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France, that was a base for artists of the Pont-Aven School in the last half of the 19th century. It was known for economical but excellent quality food, where the diners served themselves from shared dishes set out on a long table in the dining room. There were few rooms, so most of the artists boarded elsewhere in the town. Its most famous resident was Paul Gauguin who stayed several times between 1886 and 1894. Today the building houses a bookstore, gallery and exhibition space.
Pont-Aven was "discovered" in 1864 by the American painter Henry Bacon (1839–1912). Two American art students, Earl Shinn (1838–1886) and Howard Roberts (1843–1900), arrived in Paris in the spring on 1866 and applied for admission to the École des Beaux-Arts. Their teacher in Philadelphia, Robert Wylie (1839–1877), had encouraged them to visit Pont-Aven in the summer. Word spread, and about twelve American and English artists spent the summer of 1866 in the village. The villager were friendly to the artists, found them studio space in the run-down Château de Lezaven, and were glad to pose for them.
The painters appreciated the beauty of the surrounding landscape and the low living costs. They would use barns or sheds as studios. A growing number of foreign artists returned year after year, and some settled more or less permanently. French artists began to visit the village in the mid- to late 1870s. The village became fashionable with members of the Salon in Paris. The artists stayed at the Hôtel des Voyageurs or the Pension Gloanec, or else found lodgings in the villagers' houses.
The Pension Gloanec was opened in 1860 by Marie-Jeanne Gloanec (1839–1915) and Joseph Gloanec (1829–1906). Marie-Jeanne Morvant, later known as "La Mère Gloanec", was born on 8 February 1839 in Pont-Aven, daughter of a tailor and a chambermaid. Some time later her father opened a small inn, where Marie-Jeanne learned the trade. Her future husband was born on 10 March 1829 in Pont-Scorff.
Both Joseph and Marie-Jeanne Gloanec were almost illiterate. Joseph Gloanec worked as a sawyer and mill repairer before they opened the inn. Arthur Hoeber (1854–1915) described him as a "prince of scoundrels and incomparable idlers, with a halo of vague and misty tales of his early life as a smuggler and wrecker on the wild coast nearby, never quite authenticated, but giving him much distinction and interest." Birge Harrison (1854–1929) described Marie Jeanne Gloanec as a "dear, wizened, motherly woman. She was an excellent cook, and took great pleasure in the company of her artists.
The Pension Gloanec was at the entrance to the Pont-Aven village square. There were few rooms for rent, and most of the artists lived elsewhere in the town and only ate at the pension. The auberge had only two rooms on the ground floor. At the front the kitchen-living room was entered from the square, and had a large fireplace. Corwin Knapp Linson (1864–1959) said the kitchen had two great Breton beds on either side of the fireside in which the mistress and her maids slept. He wrote that the "time honoured fireplace was framed in a blazonment of brass and copper utensils which blinked, flashed, glowed according to ever changing humour of light."
Behind the kitchen was the dining room, where food was served "to fatten you on the spot". The dining room was lined with beams and floorboards, drawings and studies. The work of the regular guests covered the walls of the kitchen and dining room, depicting the local men and women who posed for the artists. The patronnes would often extend credit to the artists, or accept paintings as payment, and the artists were proud to have their work accepted and displayed. In this way, the Gloanecs acquired a major collection.
The painter Édouard Girardet (1819–1880) described the pension in 1876, when Aloysius O'Kelly (1853–1936) was staying there, as the rowdiest of the inns compared to the Hôtel des Voyageurs, favored by the Americans and the Hôtel du Lion d'Or, favored by the French. Thomas Hovenden stayed in the pension at that time, as did the American brothers Alexander and Birge Harrison.