The images and information presented below are for the instruction of students and scholarly research.
Louis Hayet
(1864-1940)
Self-Portrait
Louis Hayet was a Neo-Impressionist painter born in Pontoise, France to a poor family. He began to show talent in the arts at the age of 12, and as a young man he was able to see the country and work with his father, a traveling salesman.
Paris, la Tour Eiffel
By the time he was 20, Hayet had already established himself as a painter, working alongside Signac, Seurat and Pissaro. He was a Divisionist and like his fellow painters experimented with Pointillism, as well as light and color theories.
Scene Animee a Paris
Hayet broke away from the Divisionsists by 1890 and returned to a more traditional style.
Towards the end of his life, Hayet devoted himself to studying colors and their properties using scientific research.
The Riverbank of the Oise, 1888
It is known that he created nearly 500 small paintings, measuring less than 20x25 inches, which is somewhat unusual for an artist to do. Hayet also had a decorative signature which he would sometimes incorporate on the front of his paintings in red script.
Personnage Assis
Although he is not as well known as his former Divisionist friends, Hayet is regarded as one of the most important painters of the Neo-Impressionist movement. Today his work is housed all over Europe, and perhaps in your own home.
