Born in Bordeaux to a family of artists and architects, Guillaume Alaux was a pastellist who was recognised for his portraits, genre scenes, still-life paintings and seascapes. Though he studied in Paris at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts under prominent artists such as Léon Bonnat, Fernand Humbert and Henri Gervex, Alaux retained ties with Bordeaux’s late 19th-century art scene, working alongside the ‘painters of Bordelais elegance’, which included Jules Aviat, Paul Quinsac and Paul Antin.
In Paris, Alaux often exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français and was a member of the jury of the Société nationale des Beaux-Arts. His studio in the French capital welcomed many an important figure of La Belle Époque, considered to be Paris’ Golden Age.
While he often worked with pastels, Alaux was also adept in oils – one of his paintings depicting life by the sea won the bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1900.
Apart from France, Guillaume Alaux also exhibited his works in Rome, Brussels and the United States.
