Artot, Paul

Person

Artot, Paul

1875-1958

Paul Artot was born in Brussels on the first of February 1875. He studied at the Academie Royal des Beaux Arts de Belgique.

Artot was interviewed by the school's director Francis Newbery in Florence in 1902. In the early twentieth century, Newbery began recruiting for staff elsewhere in Europe under a set of criteria from the government's director for art. These criteria had been drawn up to ensure that The Glasgow School of Art established itself as a leading art school in the UK. The school had previously recruited Jean Delville, another Belgian artist who was educated at the Societe Royal des Beaux Arts de Belgique. Artot was appointed as a result of a second recruitment of staff by Newberry.

Paul Artot taught Drawing and Painting at the school between 1902 and 1912. He was first a professor of antique still life classes before moving on to teach life drawing classes using live animals (1903-1910). He became head of these classes in 1910 before being appointed head of life and costume model (1911-1912).

Artot was heavily inspired by the precise, Neoclassical style of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. He brought this inspiration into his drawing classes, encouraging his students to develop a chemical understanding of their pigments and to draw with chalk pencils rather than traditional charcoal. He was also on the staff council between 1908 and 1912.

Artot died in Brussels in 1958. The Glasgow School Of Art Archives and Collections hold several photographs featuring him in the collection. There are also references to him within our Director's Papers for Francis Newbery (GSAA/DIR/5) and our Secretary and Treasurer papers (GSAA/SEC).

Sources used: The Flower and the Green Leaf by Ray McKenzie, GSA Archives and Collections Annual Reports (GSAA/GOV/1) GSA Archives and Collections Prospectuses (GSAA/REG/1) Website for the Academie Royale Des Beaux-Arts in Brussels: http://www.arba-esa.be/fr/home.php.

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