Joseph Castaing 1860-1918

Born in Pau, Henry Castaing studied under Victor Venat in Pau from 1881 to 1883, before spending two years in Italy at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, where he attended the classes of Brushi and Sciuti.

Upon returning to France, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he became a student of William Laparra, Léon Bonnat, and Benjamin Constant. From 1892 onward, he divided his time between teaching drawing and producing paintings on subjects ranging from religious to secular themes. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1898 to 1908, and for a final time in 1914.

Castaing’s religious fervour and deep knowledge of iconography are evident in some twenty compositions executed for churches and chapels. A series painted for the Chapel of Notre-Dame in Oloron-Sainte-Marie deserves special mention, owing to the praise it received from Eugène Carrière and Maurice Denis. This body of work was later (in 1980) listed in the inventory of France’s Historic Monuments and National Artistic Heritage.

Other notable examples of his work include compositions created for the churches of Notre-Dame, Saint-Martin, and Saint-Jacques in Pau.

Henry Castaing was also a gifted portraitist. As such, he was the most sought-after artist in Pau during the Belle Époque, fulfilling commissions from the bourgeoisie for private residences, working in oil, pastel, and sanguine.

A retrospective exhibition entitled “Joseph Castaing, a Béarnais Painter” was held in Oloron in October 2011 to mark the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth. In July 2011, the Maison Carrée in Nay presented around sixty works by Joseph Castaing and his son René-Marie (1896 - 1943).

Museums:
Pau (Musée des Beaux-Arts)
Lourdes (Musée des Sanctuaires)