Alphonse Osbert

Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts, his earliest passion was for the great Spanish masters, particularly Jusepe de Ribera. A shift away from his academic style took place in the late 1880s under the influence of several acquaintances associated with Post-Impressionism and Symbolism. Osbert abandoned naturalistic painting in favour of a Pointillist technique like that employed by Seurat and Signac. Also inspired by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and the Symbolists, he chose to forsake depiction of real-world subject matter, and developed a poetic visual language of his own. His signature style consists of ghostlike Muses in mysterious landscapes bathed in the unearthly light of a sun or moon, rendered with abundant use of the colour blue. In the 1890s he was associated with Joséphin Péladan and his order, the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross. Osbert's later works include a few commissioned murals, for sites including the Centre Thermal des Dômes in Vichy (1903 and 1904), and the Church Of Saint-Louis in Vichy (1915). An overview of his career titled 'Le peintre symboliste Alphonse Osbert', written by Véronique Dumas, was published by CNRS in 2005.

Alphonse Osbert studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris. Training under Léon Bonnat is recorded. The recorded working language is French. Work by Alphonse Osbert is recorded in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Petit Palais and Centre national des arts plastiques. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Alphonse Osbert is recorded as having received Knight of the Legion of Honour. Recorded at birth as Alphonse Léon Auguste Osbert. Recognition and collections. Osbert received Knight of the Legion of Honour.