hercule florenceinvents
studies of the skies
It was soon after settling in Campinas (SP) that Hercule Florence began his investigations in the graphic area, which culminated with the discovery of polygraphy (1830) and photography (1833).
Florence, however, was not just drawn to experimentation with multiplied images – Florence also devoted himself to single images, obtained through painting and its developments.
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![FLORENCE, Hercule - [Page 89 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo) - Photo: Heitor Florence.](/images/inventos/ceus/ceus-L-Amie-des-Arts_pag-89.jpg)
FLORENCE, Hercule [Page 89 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
[Page 89 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
![FLORENCE, Hercule - [Page 90 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo) - Photo: Heitor Florence.](/images/inventos/ceus/ceus-L-Amie-des-Arts_pag-90.jpg)
FLORENCE, Hercule [Page 90 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
[Page 90 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
![FLORENCE, Hercule - [Page 96 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo) - Photo: Heitor Florence.](/images/inventos/ceus/ceus-L-Amie-des-Arts_pag-96.jpg)
FLORENCE, Hercule [Page 96 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
[Page 96 of the manuscript “L’Ami des arts livré à lui-même...”] - 1837-1859 - Ferrogallic ink and pencil on paper - 30.6 x 21.0 cm - Institute Hercule Florence Collection (São Paulo)
Photo: Heitor Florence.
Busy with the routine work in the store of his father-in-law, Francisco Alvares Machado de Vasconcelos (1790-1846), Hercule Florence could not devote himself to painting. Nevertheless, between 1830 and 1844, he conceived and developed his Etudes de ciel, à l'usage des jeunes paysagistes [Studies of the sky, for the use of young landscape artists], or his Atlas or his Theatre Pittoresque-Céleste [Picturesque Celestial Theatre], an extensive catalog where he gathered "the most beautiful, most brilliant, and most varied" (manuscript L'Ami des Arts livré à lui-même, p. 92) skies, clouds, shapes, colors, and effects caused by the weather, time of day, and various human activities, such as wildfires, to serve artists as the foundation for their compositions.
In his L'Ami des Arts (pp. 5-7 and 89-106) Hercule Florence describes in detail 22 studies of skies, identifying place, date and time of their representation. He clarifies that this is only a modest sampling rather than a comprehensive catalog.
Hercule Florence acknowledges that despite its calm lifestyle, indifference to artistic matters, and distance from major towns, the interior of the So Paulo province allowed for distant views that were impractical for an artist who lived amidst the structures and activity of cities.
His remoteness from Europe turns out to be a benefit.: “it is in the big cities that one sees less of the sky” (in the original, "c'est dans les grandes villes que l'on voit moins le ciel", p. 91).
His studies of the sky aimed to circumvent the quickly changing seasons, weather, clouds, colors, and “states of the atmosphere”, as well as the artist’s need to memorize the scene, to quickly capture it on canvas and the fact that it is practically impossible for landscape painters to paint in the open air on overcast days.
RECOMMENDED LITERATURE:
- FLORENCE, Hercule. L'Ami des arts livré à lui-même ou Recherches et découvertes Sur différents sujets nouveaux Par Hercule Florence, 1837-1859. Manuscrito, Tinta ferrogálica sobre papel, 30,0 x 20,0 cm (fechado). Coleção Instituto Hercule Florence (São Paulo)
- Hercule Florence e o Brasil: o percurso de um artista-inventor. [São Paulo]: Pinacoteca do Estado, [2009]. (catálogo de exposição)
