{{short description|French painter and camoufleur}} [[File:Louis Guingot.jpg|thumb|Image of Louis Guingot]] {{use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} '''Louis Guingot''' (3 January 1864–16 December 1948) was a French mural painter and founding member of the [[École de Nancy]] (the Nancy School). He was the first French [[List of camoufleurs|camoufleur]] in the [[World War I|First World War]], credited as the inventor of military camouflage for the French army. In 1914, he created a prototype camouflaged battledress for the French army, which it rejected, only to take up the idea later for [[artillery]] guns.
== Early life ==
Louis Guingot was born at [[Remiremont]] on 3 January 1864 in Lorraine.<ref>{{cite journal |lang=fr |last=Martan |title=Vosges (88) |journal=Guide National des Maisons Natales |date=1864 |url=http://maisons.natales.over-blog.com/2014/05/vosges-88.html |access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref> He studied art at the [[Beaux-Arts de Paris]] in 1880 and at the [[École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs]] in Paris. There he was noticed by [[Pierre-Victor Galland]], director of the [[Manufacture des Gobelins]], who included him in his team to participate in the decoration of the [[Panthéon]] in Paris and many buildings and castles in Central Europe until 1889. The director of the [[Théâtre des Variétés]] then made him its chief decorator for three years.<ref name="A.Conte-RésuméBio">{{cite web |lang=en |last=Conte |first=Albert |title=Biography of Louis Guingot |url=http://www.lay-saint-christophe.fr/histoire/layens-illustres/louis-guingot/ |website=lay-saint-christophe.fr |access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref>
He married Marie Lambert in 1892 before joining the circle of artists in [[Nancy, France|Nancy]]. He then spent time with [[Émile Gallé]], painter of the [[Art Nouveau]] movement and founder with [[Louis Majorelle]] of the Nancy school of painting in 1901. The painter had his villa ''La Chaumière'' built by the architects Weissenburger of the Rue d'Auxonne in Nancy. His garden, with structures decorated by many artists of the school of Nancy, was visited by [[Sisowath of Cambodia|Sisowath]], King of [[Cambodia]], and his delegation in July 1906.<ref name="A.Conte-RésuméBio"/>
== Mural painter ==
[[File:Ascension en ballon par Louis Guingot (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|"The Balloon Flight" by Louis Guingot, 1902. In the balloon are Guingot, the artist [[Émile Friant]], the inventor {{ill|Henri Belliéni|fr}}, and the mayor of Nancy, {{ill|Hippolyte Maringer|fr}} ]]
Guingot's training as a painter led him to the mural decoration of public and religious buildings in his region, such as the theatres of [[Verdun]], [[Lunéville]] and [[Bussang]]. He notably painted three frescoes in the church of [[Vaubexy]] in around 1900. He worked on the decoration of restaurants and castles such as the chateau of Manoncourt-sur-Seille (Château Colin) in Lorraine,<ref>The Guingot Frescoes, [http://www.chateau-de-manoncourt.com/pages/guingot.html chateau-de-manoncourt.com]</ref> the [[Vittel]] casino, the Charmes brasserie, the ceiling of the town hall of [[Épinal]], and the jam factory in [[Liverdun]].{{sfn|Thiery|2007}}
He was a member of the steering committee of the Nancy School from 1901. His work was selected for the portico of the Palais des Fêtes for the Nancy International Exhibition in 1909. Among his other functions, he was chief decorator of the [[Théâtre des Variétés]] in Montmartre. He worked as decorator of the Théâtre du Peuple in Bussang, being a close friend of [[Maurice Pottecher]] and chief decorator of the Lunéville theatre.<ref>Testimony of Louis Guingot to Albert Conte. Correspondence with the staff of the Lunéville Theatre. Notice of the Château de Lunéville</ref> He worked with {{ill|René Wiener|fr}} on the creation of bindings. His son Henri Guingot (1897-1952) was curator of the Musée d'Épinal and co-founder of the Musée de l'Imagerie.<ref>Testimony of Mercédès Guingot to Albert Conte: she was the widow of Henri Guingot, and her biography. Musée départemental d'art ancien et moderne d'Epinal: Collection Guingot 2010</ref>
== Camoufleur == {{further|List of camoufleurs}}
[[File:Louis_Guingot's_Leopard_Camouflage_Jacket_1914.jpg|thumb|Louis Guingot's 1914 prototype "Leopard" pattern camouflage jacket, sent to and returned by the French army, minus a rectangle cut out as a sample]]
Guingot was interested in new decorative processes for fabrics and hangings, which led him to seek a [[military camouflage]] unit during the [[First World War]], alongside Jean-Baptiste Eugène Corbin. He and his son Henri started creating camouflage for the army in his studio in Nancy, in the autumn of 1914.<ref name=A.Conte-Bio54>Testimony of Louis Guingot to Albert Conte. Biography of the artist by the latter "Louis Guingot and the others" 1996 and 2013, deposited in the Departmental Archives of Meurthe and Moselle-54</ref> He then joined the army and worked in the special painters section specialized in the manufacture of this fabric. He was the inventor of France's first military camouflage,<ref>{{cite magazine |lang=fr |first=Patrick |last=Peccatte |title=Cubism and camouflage – a myth of art history |magazine=Déjà Vu |date=14 April 2015 |issn=2262-5445 |url=https://dejavu.hypotheses.org/2220 |access-date=8 May 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Thiery |first=Frédéric |title=1914. 'La Première Veste de Camouflage de Guerre du Monde' est Inventée par Louis Guingot |journal=Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains |lang=fr |trans-title=1914. 'The First Camouflage Jacket of the World War' is Invented by Louis Guingot |issue=227 |year=2007 |pages=7–21 <!--|jstor=25733239--> |doi=10.3917/gmcc.227.0007 |url=http://www.cairn.info/resume.php?ID_ARTICLE=GMCC_227_0007 <!--free access--> |doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> as illustrated by the "leopard" outfit.{{sfn|Thiery|2007}} The original jacket was donated to the Lorrain Museum in Nancy in 1981 by Albert Conte, his last pupil from 1942 to 1945 in [[Lay-Saint-Christophe]],<ref>{{cite news |lang=en |title=The true story of Louis Guingot |newspaper=[[L'Est Républicain]] |date=4 May 2017 |url=https://www.estrepublicain.fr/edition-de-nancy-agglomeration/2017/05/04/la-veritable-histoire-de-louis-guingot |access-date=8 May 2017 }}</ref> which received it from the artist's widow in 1976.<ref>Musée Lorrain, Nancy: donations</ref> He had sent the prototype [[linen]] camouflage jacket to the French army and proposed his invention. It was returned to him with a (lost) letter expressing interest; a rectangle had been cut on the right side.<ref name=A.Conte-Bio54/> The army kept the sample, but never contacted the inventor again. However, his idea was taken up for the camouflage of [[artillery]] guns. A camouflage unit such as he had suggested, employing several artists, was set up at [[Domgermain]] in [[Meurthe-et-Moselle]], under the direction of [[Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola|Guirand de Scévola]].<ref name="A.Conte-RésuméBio"/><ref name="Renaud 2014">{{cite news |last=Renaud |first=Marie |title=Rencontre: Une histoire de veste |trans-title=Encounters: The Story of a Jacket |newspaper=[[Le Républicain Lorrain]] |date=13 April 2014 |url=https://www.republicain-lorrain.fr/actualite/2014/04/13/une-histoire-de-veste|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Museum of Lorraine">{{cite web |title=Louis Guingot: Veste de camouflage |url=https://www.musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/fr/collections/les-oeuvres-majeures/veste-de-camouflage-83 |publisher=Museum of Lorraine |access-date=29 January 2023 |language=fr |trans-title=Louis Guingot: Camouflage Jacket}}</ref><ref name="Rivat 2019">{{cite news |last=Rivat |first=Anthony |title=En 1914, Louis Guingot invente le camouflage de guerre |url=https://www.vosgesmatin.fr/insolite/2019/12/22/en-1914-louis-guingot-invente-le-camouflage-de-guerre |access-date=29 January 2023 |work=Vosges Matin |date=22 December 2019 |language=fr |trans-title=In 1914, Louis Guingot invents military camouflage}}</ref>
== Death and legacy ==
He is buried in [[Bouxières-aux-Dames]] near Nancy in Lorraine. His former house has been converted to flats, but its original facade survives.
== Principal works ==
* Camouflage materials, displayed at the [[Musée Lorrain]], Nancy * Frescoes of the four seasons for the Château of Manoncourt-sur-Seille in [[Meurthe-et-Moselle]] * Frescoes in the choir of the church of [[Vaubexy]] in the [[Vosges]] * Painting at ''Musée français de la brasserie'' in [[Saint-Nicolas-de-Port]]<ref>{{cite web|access-date=8 May 2017 |title=Musée Français de la Brasserie|url=https://passionbrasserie.com/visite-du-musee/}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> * ''Arbre'' (Tree), first half of 20th century. Musée départemental d'art ancien et contemporain, Épinal <ref>Image and description at [http://webmuseo.vosges.fr/ws/webmuseo/app/collection/record/222 Musée numérique des Vosges]</ref> * ''Paravent'' (Screen), c. 1900. Musée départemental d'art ancien et contemporain, Épinal <ref>Image and description at [http://webmuseo.vosges.fr/ws/webmuseo/app/collection/record/183 Musée numérique des Vosges]</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* Louis Guingot and camouflage at [http://www.ec-lorraine.com/ginguot/camouf/guincam.html ec-lorraine.com] * Life of Louis Guingot by Albert Conte at [http://www.lay-saint-christophe.fr/histoire/layens-illustres/louis-guingot/ Lay-saint-christophe website] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHrK0n4Pvzg ''L'invention du camouflage - une enquête passionnante ! ''] - short film about Guingot and the invention of camouflage (in French)
{{Camoufleurs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guingot, Louis}} [[Category:1864 births]] [[Category:1948 deaths]] [[Category:Camoufleurs]] [[Category:French muralists]]