Hippolyte Camille Delpy

Hippolyte Camille Delpy was born in Joigny in 1842 and died in Paris on June 4, 1910.  He was a student of Charles Francois Daubigny, a friend of the family, who took the young Camille along with him on strolls. The child saw Daubigny paint and admired his creations, and from that point on, his only aspiration as a child was to become a painter. In Paris, Daubigny introduced his young pupil to Corot.  It was a moment of intense emotion, when Corot admitted the young Delpy into his studio.

In 1869, Delpy began to exhibit at the Salon.  He extensively traveled throughout the provinces, especially visiting Corot in Ville d’Avray, and Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise. In 1874, he married Louise Berthe Cyboulle.  During their marriage, she was a source of incomparable happiness to him, and many of his works are filled with light and harmony.  It was at this time the Delpy met Pissarro and Cezanne at Auvers, and they had a great impact on Delpy’s use of color.  Although he remained faithful to Daubigny’s technique, Delpy brought a more vigorous touch and a greater intensity of color to his work.  His first gallery exhibition was at the Galerie des Artistes Modernes, in Paris and it was surprisingly successful.  He also exhibited in the Exposition International, with De Nittis, Whistler, Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, Renoir and Morisot.  To find Delpy in this company clearly shows the esteem in which he was held.  The Barbizon School championed the concept that to the classical theory of harmony between tones and values must be added the notion of color, which Delpy used to achieve a brighter truth in his paintings.

Delpy’s works are housed in a number of museums including the Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France; Beziers Museum, France; Louviers Museum, France, Chambéry, France, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona; Brigham Young University Fine Arts Collection, Utah.