Ferdinand-Joseph Gueldry French, 1858-1945

Ferdinand Gueldry was born into a well-to-do, cultured family who nurtured his artistic talent from an early age. He became a student of the renowned French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme and made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1878 aged twenty. Living a jeunesse doré Gueldry dedicated most of his time to his two passions – rowing and painting. Accordingly the first subjects of his paintings were depictions of his rowing companions from the Société Nautique de la Marne de Joinville-Le-Pont – a rowing club that exists to this day.

Rowing was very much in vogue with the upper middle classes and the bourgoisie in Paris in the 1880s and 1890s. Gueldry however remained faithful to the sport and throughout his career concentrated on boating scenes and depictions of races and regattas on the Seine, Marne and Thames (he competed several times in the prestigious Henley regatta). In these works he sought to depict scenes of contemporary life. Paintings such as the present work therefore not only capture the conviviality of these boating events but also showcased Gueldry's love of detail and accuracy in depicting the boats, rowing equipment and the colours of his fellow oarsmen.

Fig 1: Ferdinand Gueldry, Bords de Marne, private collection