As part of the major exhibition Gustave Fayet un artiste en sa demeure, au phalanstère des rêves presented between 2015 and 2016 at the Musée des Beaux-Arts Hôtel Fayet, Béziers town council felt the need to obtain an archiving, presentation and research tool

It’s against this backdrop that we’ve designed the exhibition catalog, which relates these two exhibitions and provides an insight into the complex role of Gustave Fayet, heir to a long dynasty, entrepreneur, winegrower, painter, patron, collector, artist and creator of a body of work comprising over two thousand pieces.

Gustave Fayet, an artist in his own home (1865 to 1904)

This first exhibition, which ran from September 19 to December 31, 2015, highlights Gustave Fayet as a Biterroise figure. It examines the way in which he assumed his role as a collector and patron of the arts in his city. Through texts and iconography, the catalog reveals his open mind, his sensitive eye, the diversity of his works and his artistic experience ranging from Impressionism to Synthetism.

The exhibition catalog has a square format and a glued square-back binding, designed to make it easier to hold, handle and distribute in bookshops.

Gustave Fayet at the Dream Phalanstery (1908 to 1925)

It was during this period that Gustave Fayet’s work underwent a real turning point. Portraits gradually gave way to landscapes and his approach to architecture, as evidenced by his depiction of Fontfroide Abbey. With his pronounced taste for color, Fayet sublimates reality to create dreamlike visions. His deep connection with nature becomes the driving force behind his artistic creation. This can be seen in his watercolors on paper or blotting paper, his floral motifs for carpets or decors, and his illustrations for collections of poems.

Genesis of an editorial series

This catalog covers a broad period of Gustave Fayet’s artistic life, and is the first in a series that we will begin publishing a few years later. This collection of exhibition catalogs aims to explore the work of Gustave Fayet through more targeted themes, as in the first volume entitled Gustave Fayet en Provence.