Othon Friesz

Honfleur – The Artists – Friesz, Othon

This page forms part of a series of pages dedicated to the many artists who worked in Honfleur. A full list of all the artists with a link to their works can be found at the bottom of this page.

Othon Friesz
Othon Friesz

Movement(s): FauvismPost Impressionism

Othon Friesz was a French painter who was born in Le Havre (the son of a long line of shipbuilders and sea captains) where he went to school with Raoul Dufy who became a lifelong close friend. They both went to the same school in Le Havre, and later they went together to Paris for art school.

Othon Friesz, full name Achille-Emile Othon Friesz (1879 – 1949), was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of shipbuilders and sea captains. He went to school in his native city. It was while he was at the Lycée that he met his lifelong friends Raoul Dufy, Rene de Saint-Delis and Rene’s younger brother, Henri Saint-Delis.

He, Rene, Henri and Dufy studied at the Le Havre School of Fine Arts in 1895-96 and then went to Paris together for further study. In Paris, Friesz met Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, and Georges Rouault. Like them, he rebelled against the academic teaching of Bonnat and became a member of the Fauves, exhibiting with them in 1907. The following year, Friesz returned to Normandy and to a much more traditional style of painting, since he had discovered that his personal goals in painting were firmly rooted in the past.

He opened his own studio in 1912 and taught until 1914 at which time he joined the army for the duration of the war. He resumed living in Paris in 1919 and remained there, except for brief trips to Toulon and the Jura Mountains, until his death in 1949.

His paintings followed the Post-Impressionism and Fauvism movements.

Click here to read Friesz’s full bio on Wikipedia.

NOTE: Click on any image below for a bigger version (no new window will open).

NOTE: A black box like this one, means that there is an explanation text about today’s situation of the painting above it.
NOTE: Click on this photo icon anywhere below a painting to see a photo of what the area looks like today.

NOTE: A blue box like this one, means there is an explanation or a note.

1905 - Othon Friesz - Port of Honfleur, Buoy Honfleur
1905 – Othon Friesz – Port of Honfleur, Buoy Honfleur
1905 - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
1905 – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
1906 - Othon Friesz - Autumn in Honfleur, the Cote de Grace
1906 – Othon Friesz – Autumn in Honfleur, the Cote de Grace

TODAY: The “Notre-Dame de Grace” chapel is located on the “Cote de Grace”, a few kilometers up from the centre of Honfleur. It’s a small seaman’s chapel with a big park around it. There’s also a great view over the Seine river from there.

Click here to read our review of the Chapel.

1906 - Othon Friesz - The Cote de Grace, Honfleur
1906 – Othon Friesz – The Cote de Grace, Honfleur
1925 - Othon Friesz - Entrance of fishing boats, Honfleur
1925 – Othon Friesz – Entrance of fishing boats, Honfleur
1930 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
1930 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur
1930 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
1930 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur
1930 - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
1930 – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
1933 - Othon Friesz - Entrance of the port of Honfleur
1933 – Othon Friesz – Entrance of the port of Honfleur
1933 - Othon Friesz - Port scene, Honfleur
1933 – Othon Friesz – Port scene, Honfleur
1933 - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
1933 – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
1935 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
1935 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur
1937 - Othon Friesz - Fishermen in the Port of Honfleur
1937 – Othon Friesz – Fishermen in the Port of Honfleur
1937 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur, the port at low tide
1937 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur, the port at low tide
1937 - Othon Friesz - The window on the basin, Honfleur
1937 – Othon Friesz – The window on the basin, Honfleur
1937 - Othon Friesz - Trees in the Seine estuary, Honfleur
1937 – Othon Friesz – Trees in the Seine estuary, Honfleur
1937 - Othon Friesz - Woods near Honfleur
1937 – Othon Friesz – Woods near Honfleur
1938 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur's outer harbor
1938 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur’s outer harbor
1939 - Othon Friesz - Port of Honfleur
1939 – Othon Friesz – Port of Honfleur
1939 - Othon Friesz - The Trees of the Cote de La Grace (Honfleur)
1939 – Othon Friesz – The Trees of the Cote de La Grace (Honfleur)
1945 - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
1945 – Othon Friesz – Honfleur
1945 - Othon Friesz - The Estuary at Honfleur
1945 – Othon Friesz – The Estuary at Honfleur
1945 - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
1945 – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - Basin at Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – Basin at Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - Before the port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – Before the port of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – Honfleur

Today: The white building is the Cheval Blanc, an old 15th century hotel/coach inn. It still exists today, and it’s still an hotel. Click here to access their site.

???? - Othon Friesz - Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - Honfleur, the Old Basin (Le Vieux Bassin)
???? – Othon Friesz – Honfleur, the Old Basin (Le Vieux Bassin)
???? - Othon Friesz - Honfleur, the Port
???? – Othon Friesz – Honfleur, the Port

NOTE: The white building in the painting is the Honfleur City Hall.

???? - Othon Friesz - Sailboats in the port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – Sailboats in the port of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - The heights of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – The heights of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur
???? - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur

NOTE: On the left is the City Hall (Hotel de Ville), on the right the Lieutenancy.

???? - Othon Friesz - The Port of Honfleur
???? – Othon Friesz – The Port of Honfleur

Here are the several places in France where Othon Friesz painted in (a link “” to his works in those cities will appear below when published):

Honfleur was (and is) a very picturesque town, so it saw many artists capturing the beauty of this very scenic town. The reason it has so many tourists is obvious…. it’s very pretty. Here are some of the artists that have come to apply their art in the town (a link, symbolized by a ““, to the artist’s works will appear when published. A “*” indicates that the artist did not work directly in Honfleur but instead worked outside of Honfleur in a nearby town).

NOTE: You can subscribe to our new articles by entering your email address in the box on the right column (or at the very bottom of this article) and clicking on the button “Subscribe”.

You will need to check your incoming emails and validate your subscription. If you can’t see an email from us, check your Spam folder. Without validating your email address, you will not get notifications from us. WE WILL NEVER GIVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES TO ANYONE!

Related Posts

  • 88
    Honfleur – The Artists – Marquet, AlbertAlbert Marquet was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, but also several portraits and, between 1910 and 1914, several female nude paintings. Here…
  • 88
    Honfleur – The Artists – Le Sidaner, HenriHenri Eugene Augustin Le Sidaner (1862 – 1939) who was a contemporary of the Post-impressionists, was an intimist painter known for his paintings of domestic interiors and quiet street scenes. His style contained elements of impressionism with the influences of Edouard Manet, Monet and of the Pointillists discernible in his…
  • 86
    Honfleur – The Artists – Madelain, GustaveGustave Madelain (1867 - 1944) was French painter with his own interpretation of French post Impressionism. Madelain showed a number of canvases at Le Havre and at Rouen; though it was naturally in Paris that he had his greatest success. Here are some of his paintings he made in Honfleur,…
  • 85
    Cherbourg – The Artists – Friesz, OthonOthon Friesz, a Le Havre born artist and lifelong friend of Raoul Dufy, painted between Normandy and Paris. Here is the one painting we found of his dealing with Cherbourg.
  • 85
    Dieppe – The Artists – Friesz, OthonOthon Friesz, a Le Havre born artist and lifelong friend of Raoul Dufy, painted between Normandy and Paris. Here are his (few) works we found which he made in Dieppe, Normandy.
Honfleur's Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grace
Today: Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grace
Powered by
Today: Port entry alongside the lighthouse
Today: Port entry alongside the lighthouse
Powered by
View over Honfleur at the Mont-Joli
Today: View over Honfleur at the Mont-Joli
Powered by
Today: Cheval Blanc hotel
Today: Cheval Blanc hotel
Powered by
Today: City Hall (Hotel de Ville)
Today: City Hall (Hotel de Ville)
Powered by
Scroll to Top