Constantin Guys

French painter. Born in Flesing, Holland. His exact background is unknown. As a young man, he participated in the Greek War of Independence, and then served in the French Dragoon Regiment. After being discharged, he went to London. In 1828, he helped found the Illustrated London News, and thereafter worked for the paper. He continued to send illustrations to the paper, including news from the 1848 revolution, and sketches he made during his travels around the country afterwards. He also covered the Crimean War. His works, which vividly capture all aspects of modern life, such as urban life in London and Paris, prostitutes, high society, and the plague epidemic, through sketches and watercolors, were praised by Baudelaire, and were featured in his work Painters of Modern Life (1863), and influenced Impressionist painters.

[Kimio Nakayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。オランダのフレッシングに生まれる。生い立ちについては正確には不明。青年期、ギリシアの独立戦争に参加、ついでフランス竜騎兵連隊に勤務。除隊後ロンドンに行く。1828年『イラストレイテッド・ロンドン・ニューズ』の創設に参加、その後、同紙のために働く。48年の革命時のニュースをはじめ、その後の各地の旅行で得たスケッチを同紙の挿絵として送り続ける。クリミア戦争にも取材。ロンドンやパリの都市生活、娼婦(しょうふ)、社交界、ペストの流行など、あらゆる現代生活を、素描と水彩で生き生きととらえる彼の作品は、ボードレールに称揚され、『現代生活の画家』（1863）で取り上げられ、印象派の画家にも影響を与えた。

［中山公男］

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