Alfred Beau (1829 - 1907)

Originally from Morlaix, this exceptional artist distinguished himself through his innovative approach, which consisted of developing, with remarkable technical virtuosity, a coherent collection of works painted on ceramics devoted to the theme of Brittany. Sensitive to the gradual erosion of traditional Breton clothing styles, shortly after 1870 he undertook, in collaboration with the Porquier factory in Quimper, the creation of a series of delicate paintings fired in a high-temperature kiln, with the help of students from the recently founded Quimper Museum of Fine Arts.

In 1884, he also contributed to the design of a Breton costume gallery at the Musée du Trocadéro, where strikingly realistic terracotta faces completed the ethnographic accuracy of the collection. Considered the inventor of the ‘Breton genre’, he ended his career as curator of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Quimper.