Pierre edouard frere biography definition

French 1819 - 1886

Pierre Édouard Frère was a Realist painter who became the leader of the “sympathetic art” movement in France, a vein of Realism which sensitively portrayed the lower classes with dignity and charm, glorifying the simplicity of their lives and their work.

While many Realists focused on the gritty spectacles of the streets of Paris, Frère became especially known for his sympathetic portraits of women, and especially young children, completing daily household chores and other domestic activities.

This form of art had its origins in the eighteenth century French painting by such artists as Jean-Siméon Chardin and the Le Nain brothers who, in turn, were inspired by the seventeenth century Dutch artists.

This interest in the lower classes was not unique to Frère, as many other artists were also tackling the issue of poverty that had become a major social issue in France.

The class divisions in France were too severe not to take notice of the stree