“Fouras”, DUFRENOY Georges

Luminous postimpressionist view of a beach with a boat and wildflowers. Oil on cardboard located by the artist in Fouras, at the tip of the coast between La Rochelle and Rochefort. In the distance, small boats with coloured sails and the island of Oléron and the Fort Boyard. Rare in the work of the artist who mainly painted views of cities and mainly Paris.

Size : H 54,5 cm x W 46,5 cm – H 57cm x W 67 cm

French school of the beginning of the 20th century.

Lit: After a period at the Julian Academy, he worked for a decorator. A discreet sensitivity marks his landscapes, mainly urban views, notably the Place des Vosges in Paris where he practically spent his life. He made his debut at the Salon des Indépendants in 1896, but it was the revelation of Venice, where he stayed regularly from 1902, that enriched his palette with these rare tones, full of intimacy and discreet poetry. He travelled several times to Italy, to Siena, Genoa and also to Provence. Book illustrator, he also painted still lifes (“Nature morte à la langouste”, 1929, Musée d’art moderne in Paris), he decorated with his friends Lombard and Girieud the Saint-Pancrace chapel of the castle of Pradines. Exhibited at the Salons d’Automne (he designed the poster in 1937), the Tuileries, and the international exhibition in Pittsburg in 1929.

Works in the museums of Nantes, Ghent, Brussels, Belgrade, Pittsburg, Moscow, Reunion and several in the Pompidou Centre in Paris.