Villa Troyon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Artists' studio complex in Paris, France

StatusAll original buildings remain standing

TypeArtists' studio complex

Architectural style19th-century Parisian courtyard ateliers

Location3–7 rue Jean-Ferrandi (formerly rue de Bagneux), Paris, France

Villa Troyon
Entrance to the Villa Troyon
General information
Status	All original buildings remain standing
Type	Artists' studio complex
Architectural style	19th-century Parisian courtyard ateliers
Location	3–7 rue Jean-Ferrandi (formerly rue de Bagneux), Paris, France
Opened	Late 19th century
Known for	Artists’ studios; residents including Diego Rivera, Moïse Kisling, and members of the Loysel family

The Villa Troyon is a complex of late-19th- and early-20th-century sculpture and painting studios built at 3-7 rue de Bagneux (today rue Jean-Ferrandi) in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Situated along a series of narrow passages near rue de Vaugirard and constructed from bricks and timber, the complex was founded by the Loysel family. It was later associated with artist residents including Diego Rivera, Moïse Kisling, Augusta Savage, Juana Muller, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Bolesłas Biegas.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

The Villa Troyon was part of a proliferation of cités d’artistes that emerged on Paris's Left Bank in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, built to provide affordable, purpose-designed studios for the growing community of professional and aspiring artists associated with the nearby École des Beaux-Arts.^[11]

Other notable examples include La Ruche in Montparnasse; Cité Falguière in the 15ᵉ arrondissement, and Cité Fleurie in the 13ᵉ arrondissement.

The Villa Troyon was founded by Léon-Félix Loysel (1825-1899), a painter trained under Barbizon School artists Théodore Rousseau and Constant Troyon,^[12] and his sons René Loysel (1861-1932), architect,^[13] and Jacques Loysel (1867-1925).^[14]^[15]

A reporter for The Art Amateur, described the complex in 1899 as "[s]everal rows of brick studios, overgrown with vines and separated from one another by narrow courts".^[3]

Contemporary notices from this time refer to the new studio buildings as Villa Troyon, honouring Léon-Félix Loysel's teacher Constant Troyon.^[16] This name continued to be used into the 20th century, though it is also referred to by its street name and numbers.^[17]

Notable Artists

The Villa Troyon's studios were used by a number of significant artists. The earliest were French academic painters and sculptors trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, including Charles Monginot (1825-1900),^[19] Paul Auban (1869-1945),^[20] and Alfred Félix Desruelles (1865-1943).^[21]^[1]

American sculptor and engraver, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, rented a workshop at the plot in the late 1890s, describing it as, “a charming little garden-like passage in the Rue de Bagneux, of which there are so many in out-of-the-way corners of Paris, the mere existence of which makes life worth living”. In his memoir, Saint-Gaudens recorded visits from the artist James McNeill Whistler.^[22]

German sculptor Richard Engelmann, recalled working at the Villa Troyon under the guidance of sculptor Jean Dampt, and notes that a "Swedish artist, Albert von Stockenström, also worked in the studio complex. He was highly talented, but addicted to absinthe. A bohemian in the truest sense of the word."^[23]

Diego Rivera’s first studio in Paris was located at Villa Troyon, and records suggest he moved between studios within the property around 1910.^[5]^[24] At this time, Moïse Kisling also lived at the address.^[6]

Beginning in 1929, Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage, worked at the Villa Troyon under Félix Benneteau.^[7]

Other figures working at the studio complex include Polish sculptor Bolesłas Biegas,^[10] American opera singer Louise Homer,^[25] Chilean sculptor Juana Müller,^[26] American painter Helen Haas, and French sculptors André Bizette-Lindet^[27] and Alfred Janniot^[28]

References

1 2 "Paris-adresses : annuaire général de l'industrie et du commerce : corps constitués, administrations, professions libérales, propriétaires, rentiers, etc... de Paris et du département de la Seine". Gallica. 1897. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ Rochegude, Felix (1910). Promenades dans toutes les rues de Paris. Robarts - University of Toronto. Paris Hachette.
1 2 The Art Amateur. Montague Marks. 1899.
↑ Lacroix, Laurier; Suzor-Côté, Aurèle de Foy (2002). Suzor-Coté: light and matter. Musée du Québec, National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada. ISBN 978-2-7619-1761-2.
1 2 Rivera, Diego; Rivera Marín, Guadalupe; Coronel Rivera, Juan Rafael; Labastida, Jaime; Banco Nacional de Comercio Interior, eds. (1993). Encuentros con Diego Rivera (1st ed.). México: Siglo Veintiuno Ed. ISBN 978-968-23-1533-6.
1 2 Klüver, Billy (1989). Kiki's Paris: artists and lovers 1900–1930. New York: Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-1210-6 – via Internet Archive.
1 2 Farrington, Lisa E. (2025-09-02). Black Artists in Their Own Words. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-38412-5.
↑ Annuaire national des beaux-arts (in French). D. Thibaud. 1972.
↑ Dryfhout, John H. (2008). The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. UPNE. ISBN 978-1-58465-709-5.
1 2 "Boleslas Biegas". Galerie Drylewicz (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ Milner, John (1988). The Studios of Paris: The Capital of Art in the Late Nineteenth Century. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-03990-0.
↑ Miquel, Pierre (1985). Le Paysage français au XIX siècle, 1840-1900 (in French). Martinelle.
↑ "René Loysel". AGORHA. Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA). Retrieved 2025-12-07.
↑ Lubos, Bernhard (2023-05-09). Moderne Plastik vor dem Durchbruch der Abstraktion: Die letzten figurativen Klassiker, geboren bis 1900 (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7578-3552-1.
↑ "Bulletin municipal officiel de la Ville de Paris". Gallica (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1897-08-26. Retrieved 2025-12-06 – via Gallica.
↑ "Journal des artistes". Gallica. 1894-10-28. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ Catalogue illustré du Salon / publié sous la direction de F.-G. Dumas (in French). Paris: Société des artistes français. 1912. Retrieved 2025-12-06 – via Gallica (BnF).
↑ "[Félix Benneteau-Desgrois] : [photographie]". Bibliothèques spécialisées de la Ville de Paris. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ "Naissance de Paul Auban, sculpteur – Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-lettres de Dijon". www.academie-sabl-dijon.org. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ "DESRUELLES Félix Alfred (1865-1943)". Collection's - Romain & Henri Hayat. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
↑ Saint-Gaudens, Augustus; Saint-Gaudens, Homer (1913). The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Century Company.
↑ Opitz, Silke (2000-01-01). Ein Gentlemankünstler. Leben und Werk des Bildhauers Richard Engelmann (1868–1966) (in German). VDG Weimar - Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-95899-136-1.
↑ moderne (France), Musée national d'art (1992). Art d'Amérique latine, 1911-1968 (in French). Musée national d'art moderne. ISBN 978-2-85850-710-8.
↑ Morton, Brian N. (1986). Americans in Paris. Quill. ISBN 978-0-688-06509-6.
↑ Salon de mai. 6, catalogue, [Musée municipal d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris,] 9 mai–31 mai 1950 (in French). Paris: Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris. 1950 – via Gallica (BnF).
↑ L'art et la mer (in French). L'Association des peintres officiels de la marine. 1979.
↑ Salon d'automne : catalogue, 4 octobre–10 novembre 1946 (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1946 – via Gallica.

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