This page forms part of a series of pages dedicated to the many artists who worked in Mont Saint-Michel. A full list of all the artists with a link to their works can be found at the bottom of this page.
Movement(s): –
Jean Antoine Theodore Gudin ( 1802 – 1880) was a French marine painter. Along with Louis-Philippe Crepin, he became one of the first two official Peintres de la Marine in 1830.
Gudin was born in Paris. Nothing is known of his father and, in his memoirs, he seems to suggest that his mother was a widow who took full responsibility for raising him and his older brother, Jean-Louis (1799-1823).
He was enrolled at a naval school, but quit his studies to go to New York, where he mingled with the Bonapartists in exile. In 1819, he joined the United States Navy and sailed aboard the Manchester Packet, a 250 ton brig.
In 1822, he returned to Paris and, inspired by his brother he decided to pursue a career in art and found a position in the studios of Anne-Louis Girodet. The following year, he and his brother were involved in a shipwreck on the Seine, from which he escaped. His brother drowned, however, and this affected him deeply for the rest of his life.
Gudin went with his friend, French Navy officer Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars, to participate in the Algerian Expedition, where he made numerous sketches.
Upon his return, he was named a “Peintre de la Marine” at the court of Louis Philippe. Over the next few years, he made painting trips to Italy, Switzerland and Russia. He was then created a Baron by the King and commissioned to produce ninety paintings on French naval history for the Palace of Versailles, a monumental task that apparently undermined his health.
In 1844, he married Louise Margaret Hay (1820-1890), daughter of the English General James Hay (1788-1862) and goddaughter of the King. They had three children, including the painter Henriette Gudin.
He served as Vice-President of the ‘Société centrale de sauvetage des naufragés” (sea rescue) which he helped to create in 1864, in memory of his late brother Jean Louis.
After the fall of the Empire in 1870, he went into self-imposed exile in England and used the name “Gordon”. He was able to return to France in 1879, following the death of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, and died at Boulogne-Billancourt in 1880.
Click here to read Gudin’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.
TODAY: Mont Saint-Michel was at times an island, at times attached to the mainland via road that was usually wet (depending on the tide). Today, there is a road built onto a dike that leads to the island and can be taken at any time during the day.
NOTE: Often in French, Mont Saint-Michel is referred to as “Le” Mont Saint-Michel (THE Mont Saint-Michel).
Baron Gudin painted in a few other places in France. A link “⇠” to their respective works will appear below when published.
- Brittany
- Brest
- Haut-de-France
- Calais
- Normandy
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Bordeaux
- La Rochelle
- Pays de la Loire
- Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur
- Marseille
- Toulon
The Mont Saint-Michel is a very impressive village, used as backdrop for many artists travelling in the region. Here are the artists that we have found that worked in the area (a link “⇠” will appear next to an artist name when we published their works of art. A “*” next to a name indicates that the artist did NOT work in Mont Saint-Michel itself, but closeby).
- 🇬🇧 Bonington, Richard Parkes
- 🇬🇧 Callow, William
- 🇬🇧 Cooke, Edward William
- 🇬🇧 Cotman, John Sell
- 🇬🇧 Fergusson, John Duncan
- 🇫🇷 Gudin, Theodore
- 🇫🇷 Guillaumin, Armand *
- 🇫🇷 Huet, Paul *
- 🇫🇷 Isabey, Eugene
- 🇬🇧 Kay, James
- 🇫🇷 Letellier, Emile-Andre
- 🇬🇧 Meadows, Arthur Joseph
- 🇫🇷 Michallon, Achille-Etna
- 🇫🇷 Parrott, William *
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Edward William Cooke was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener. Cooke was born in London, the son of well-known line engraver George Cooke; his uncle, William Bernard Cooke, was also a line engraver of note, and Edward was raised in the company of artists. He spent many years… - 87
John Cotman, a British painter, was quite active in Normandy. He spent a lot of time painting in Caen and Ouistreham (suburb of Caen). Here are two of his paintings we found for Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy. - 86
Achille Etna Michallon (1796–1822) was a French painter. Michallon was the son of the sculptor Claude Michallon and nephew of the sculptor Guillaume Francin. He travelled to Italy in 1818 and remained there for over two years. Before he had much time to develop what he had learned however, he… - 86
Arthur Joseph Meadows (1843 - 1907) was a British painter of coastal scenes and marines who was greatly influenced by Clarkson Stanfield. Arthur Joseph is generally considered to be the best of the Meadows family of marine artists, he was the younger brother of James Edwin Meadows Jnr. and the… - 86
William Callow was an English landscape painter, engraver and water colourist. He travelled extensively in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, had a large number of pupils, and enjoyed favour with the royal family. Here is one of his paintings he made in Mont Saint-Michel and one closeby…
