Laurent Guétal

Laurent Guétal, better known as Abbé Guétal, was a French Catholic priest, painter, and engraver who dedicated his life to art and spirituality. Ordained in 1862, he spent most of his life at the Rondeau seminary near Grenoble, finding inspiration in the surrounding landscapes. Nature was his muse, and he captured its beauty through his paintings. Guétal is considered one of the founders of the "Dauphinoise School" of painting, alongside artists such as Ernest Victor Hareux and Charles Bertier. He painted many Alpine landscapes, including several canvases of Villar-d'Arène, capturing the glory and majesty of the region. A critic of his time described one of his works as "a poem sung to the glory of the Dauphiné, presenting nature in all its grandeur and lofty serenity."