Eugène Chigot

Eugène Chigot (November 22, 1860, Valenciennes – July 14, 1923, Paris)
French painter, 19th–20th centuries

A student of his father, the military painter Alphonse Chigot, Eugène Chigot entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1880, where he studied mainly in the studio of Alexandre Cabanel.

He received several honors at the Paris Salon: a mention in 1886, a third-class medal in 1887—which earned him a travel grant that enabled him to visit the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain—and a second-class medal in 1890.

He settled in Étaples, near Le Touquet, where he lived from 1887 to 1893. During this period, along with his childhood friend Henri Le Sidaner, he became a leading figure of the École d'Étaples, a community of over two hundred artists—French and international—who were influenced by Impressionism and united in their desire to break away from official academic conventions.

He was appointed Official Painter of the Navy in 1891 and became a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1896.

In 1893, he spent some time in Berck and married Marthe Colle on April 8 of that year. He returned to live in Étaples from 1893 to 1895, then moved to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (1895–1898), to Dunkirk (1898–1902), and then to Petit-Fort-Philippe near Dunkirk (1902–1908), before finally settling in Paris. Chigot was a sensitive, generous, and joyful artist—a happy man.

In November 1906, he was appointed Inspector of Drawing Education and Museums.

In Étaples, he painted seascapes, working around themes of fishermen and sailboats. From 1903 onward, his work shifted toward landscapes, castles, and gardens.

In 1917 and 1918, he was sent on an official mission for the army, from which he returned deeply affected by the devastation of war—both human and environmental. Marked and prematurely aged, he spent the rest of his life tirelessly painting the garden of his studio until his death.

He regularly exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1883 to 1923 (the year of his death), and also at the Salon d’Automne, starting in 1903.

Museums:
Le Touquet, Musée de la Marine Étaples, Quentovic Étaples, Berck, Valenciennes, Lille, Amiens, Arras, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Tourcoing, Paris (Petit Palais), Nantes, Rouen, Mâcon, Limoux, Toulon, Indianapolis Museum of Art – Indiana, USA.