André Dauchez (1870 - 1948)

Born in Paris, a pupil of Luc-Olivier Merson, he practised engraving from the start and it was with an etching after Isabey that he exhibited for the first time at the 1887 Salon. He only began to paint under the influence of his brother-in-law, Lucien Simon. In the decade of 1900, along with Lucien Simon, Charles Cottet, Georges Desvallière and Maurice Denis, he was part of a group of young painters nicknamed "the black band" by art critics, because they rejected the clear canvases of the Impressionists.

André Dauchez went to Brittany at a very young age, particularly to the mouth of the Odet. From 1890, the Dauchez family frequented Bénodet. In 1893, they moved to the house at Kergaït, which was located not far from the entrance to the estuary. These summer periods of the Dauchez family decided André's pictorial and maritime vocation, especially as his brother-in-law, Lucien Simon, also a painter, lived in this house until the end of the 19th century.

André Dauchez is described as a painter of wind and estuaries, a landscape artist. His favourite subjects are the seashores, estuaries and harbours. His knowledge of the maritime environment is flawless, he is a true sailor who sails and discovers the shores by the sea.

André Dauchez is a pure landscape artist, where the human figure is often absent. He handles lead pencil with perfection. In his drawings, retouching is non-existent. He is above all a remarkable engraver, author of nearly four hundred engravings. He also illustrated several books with a lot of poetry, in numbered luxury editions, such as: "Le foyer breton : Contes et récits populaires" by Emile Souvestre, "Le livre de l'Émeraude" by André Suarès, "La mer dans les bois" by André Chevrillon which relates a boat trip on the Odet. Let us also mention his splendid and touching illustrations for Paul de Musset's tale: "Monsieur le Vent et Madame la Pluie".

It was therefore in the engraving section that he entered the Institute in 1938. Although he traveled extensively, especially to Italy, it was in Brittany that he drew his inspiration: fishermen, seaweed burners, kelp gatherers, pardons... André Dauchez became president of the Société nationale des Beaux-arts from 1931 to 1936. His work is exhibited in the Naturalist Painters section of the Musée d'Orsay.