Édouard SALINGRE
 (Soissons, 1829 – Soissons, 1892)

 Grey Wagtail Trophy

 Oil on panel
 Signed lower left
 22 x 17 cm

 The painter Eugène Édouard SALINGRE was born in Soissons in 1829.

 He began painting in secret, at home, and it was only when he was sure of himself, satisfied with his work, that he dared to show his paintings. Quite simply, small masterpieces, the first pearls of his artistic treasure chest.

 He had made a specialty for himself in which he was completely successful: still life.
 His favorite works are reproductions of game and small birds hanging from a nail by the leg. The game is the main thing; the rest is accessory. All this was painted with a sureness of eye, a finish, a delicacy of touch, a rare precision, an accuracy of detail, a richness of colors, a variety of tones, that only the OUDRY, the DESPORTES, the VOLLONS possess.
 However, SALINGRE did not imitate anyone, did not follow any school. His talent developed through work. He limited himself to copying nature and knew how to preserve the object he wanted to reproduce its own physiognomy. He sought to give his birds a strikingly true character.

 Almost every year and for twenty years between 1859 and 1879, one or more of SALINGRE's paintings were admitted to the Paris Salon. In addition to the capital, SALINGRE sent his works to exhibitions in the large provincial cities where he was regularly rewarded. Thus, they could be seen in Reims, Saint-Quentin, Amiens, Versailles, etc.

 The Society of Friends of the Arts of Reims admitted him into its ranks, as did the Archaeological Society of Soissons. He was also a member of the Society of French Artists.

 This true artist, excessively shy, never left Soissons, probably preferring tranquility to glory and having no other pleasure than his brushes and his easel.

 SALINGRE died suddenly in his hometown on September 29, 1892 at the age of 63.

 Museum : Soissons