Charles Giron

Charles Giron studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris. Ralph Teleki is recorded as having studied under Charles Giron. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is visual arts and painting. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait and landscape. Works named in the authority record are The Cradle of the Confederation. Work by Charles Giron is recorded in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK), Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris, Musée d'Orsay, National Museum in Warsaw and Musée Carnavalet. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Giron was born on 2 April 1850 in Geneva. His father, Antoine-Alexandre Giron, was a Catholic from Spain who came to Switzerland via Sardinia and his mother, Marie Henriod, was a Huguenot from Neuchâtel. Initially, Giron was apprenticed to an enameler but decided to become an artist instead. He began by taking lessons from François Diday and Barthélemy Menn in Geneva. In 1872, he went to Paris, where he frequented the Hôtel de Nice, a boarding house on the Rue des Beaux-Arts that was home to some painters from Switzerland. Later, he shared several studios with Max Leenhardt. His first exhibition at the Salon came in 1876 and consisted mostly of landscapes. Eventually, he found a position in the studios of Alexandre Cabanel at the École des Beaux-Arts. During his time in France, Giron travelled extensively, visiting England, the Netherlands, and Italy. A planned tour of India, sponsored by the Maharajah of Baroda, failed to materialize. Giron was awarded the Order of Leopold in 1887 and, the following year, was named a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor. In 1891, he married Jeanne Antoinette Forget, the daughter of a merchant. They had three children. Their daughter, Simone, married into the noble Pourtalès family. After being active in Paris and Cannes, Giron and his family returned to Switzerland in 1896 and lived in several locations before settling in Genthod. In his capacity as an art critic, he came to the defense of Ferdinand Hodler when Hodler's controversial proposal for frescoes in the Weapons Room at the Swiss National Museum was rejected. Giron sat on the admissions jury for the Exposition Universelle (1900). In 1901, he created murals for the National Council in Bern. From 1898 to 1912, he served several terms on the Eidgenössische Kunstkommission (Federal Fine Arts Commission). In 1913, Giron suffered a stroke that left him unable to paint. He died on 9 June 1914 in Genthod. Two major retrospectives have been held: Zürich-Geneva in 1920 and Bern in 1955. A street in Geneva is named after him.

Charles Giron is recorded with the occupation landscape painter. Recorded with the occupation visual artist. Classed in the genre landscape painting. Classed in the genre portrait. Recorded as painter, portraitist, art critic and artist.