In Provence in the XNUMXth century, the generations of artists from local academies – created in the second part of the XNUMXth century – formed an almost self-sufficient school with, most often, a spirit far removed from concerns about failure or Parisian success.
Their intention to exalt the terroir coincides in a particular way with the Provençal literary renaissance. A parallel that history has neglected but which is based on the natural communion aroused by the practice of language and culture by all these artists and poets. A common origin which emerges simultaneously from the literary production of a MISTRAL or a ROUMANILLE and the pictorial production of a LOUBON or a GUIGOU.
Far from the furies and the commotion of Paris, these artists will have “the mistake, according to André Gouirand, of living, working and dying in Provence, in their native country”.
A wrong that is in part quite beneficial, since it conditions the artistic renewal of Provence, makes the manifestations of regional or local academicism non-existent or of minor interest, and protects artists from importation and pastiche of various influences. , such as for example that of Impressionism, in this case a conceptual formula which will remain purely “Nordic” in the minds of the Provençals. Paris will repay this voluntary indifference by ignoring everything that could happen below the peaks of the Fontainebleau forest. Furthermore, on the side of the Impressionists, except for the knowledge of the works of GUIGOU and MONTICELLI and the active participation of BAZILLE in the meetings of the Gleyre workshop group in 1862 until his death in 1870, no Provençal, including CEZANNE, who cannot be considered an Impressionist for long, is not to be classified among the inspirations any more than among the followers of this movement. However, how can we not see in the production of certain Provençals working between 1800 and 1860, the beginnings of the innovative movements of the second part of this same century?
The same people who will announce, more specifically, the birth of the Provençal landscape school.
FRANCK BAILLE
PRESIDENT OF THE MONTE-CARLO AUCTION HOUSE
THE PRECURSORS
Emile Loubon (1809-1863)
He is the Master who most strongly and most directly influenced this naturalist Provençal school so active between 1850 and 1914. Student of CONSTANTIN at the School of Drawing in Aix,
he had the privilege, with his friend Gustave de Beaulieu, of accompanying Marius Granet to Italy, the year he turned twenty in 1829 and of remaining there until 1831.
Then in Paris, still with the friendly concern of Granet, then Curator at the Louvre Museum since 1826 and then at Versailles, he joined the group of landscapers fond of walks in the forest of Fontainebleau, where he painted, such as DIAZ, ROUSSEAU, DUPRÉ, TROYON. He followed the examples of the lighthouse of the DECAMPS era and of ROQUEPLAN, Provençal like him, his elder, of whom he said he was a student. In 1845, appointed director of the Marseille School of Drawing, he made his workshop the starting point of one of the strongest currents of the Provençal school. A center of intellectual excitement, the workshop attracts regional writers and painters and all the great artists passing through Marseille do not fail to stop off there.
Alongside a rather religious production, LOUBON's art is entirely devoted to the expression of his native land, most often retracing the pastoral life of inland Provence: a flock whose presence only serves to magnify the environment. Anecdotes and, more rarely, History, sometimes come together in the production of this undisputed guide which also leaves behind an important engraved work.
Paul Guigou (1834-1871)
With the scrupulous instinct of a notary's clerk, Paul GUIGOU became the narrator of the arid landscapes of the Provençal high country. The advice of LOUBON, from whom he quickly detached his own vision, the revelation of the great artists of his time, alongside whom he exhibited for the first time in Marseille in 1859, the friendly encouragement of MONTICELLI, his hiking companion on the banks of the the Durance, will consolidate a quickly asserted mastery of his art.
Repeated stays around Paris or Moret-sur-Loing introduced him to the public in the capital, so much so that in November 1871 he became a drawing teacher for Baroness de Rothschild. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 36, in December of the same year. The artist, for his part, “had given everything”, in the words of his biographer André Gouirand and in his last years, his production appears freer and a harbinger of innovative trends.
Felix Ziem (1821-1911)
From 1850, this clerk architect, who participated in the construction of the Roquefavour aqueduct near Aix-en-Provence, left Marseille for Nice. He travels the roads, from
Holland to Italy, via Russia and England. It was in Venice, then in Constantinople, on the banks of the Bosphorus that he found the source of his life's inspiration: a great production executed from memory (from countless travel sketches) or from view of the canals of Martigues, the “Venice of Provence”, where he had set up his workshop, in a fancy mosque near the Caronte pond. A “Provencal Impressionist” with a palette glowing with exuberance.
Adolphe Monticelli (1824-1886)
After following AUBERT's classes at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, he worked in Paris where he discovered the art of Corot and Watteau. He is a diligent student, respectful of drawing. Beginning by treating the portrait a bit like RICARD, he evolves towards the expression of a chimerical work where the woman plays the leading roles. A genius of color, like the Venetians he venerates, his material effects are vigorous. In less than an hour, he created a canvas without difficulty, so much so that his production was abundant. We must add the confusion born from the extraordinary impact he had on new generations of painters. Indeed, many people copied the Master, going so far as to forge his signature, without omitting the almost mystical adoration that the great Vincent VAN GOGH had for him.
Alfred Casile (1858-1909)
He has been considered since his death, in the same way as the greats whose influence he was influenced. In 1880, he entered the GUILEMET workshop. The attraction of this Master as well as that of BOUDIN and SISLEY, will be so determining that all his life as an artist he will not be able to detach himself from the gray and humid visions which make him, in his Provençal homeland, an original artist in the midst of all these luminists.
Auguste Chabaud (1882-1955)
Born in Nîmes, it is from Mas Martin, near Maillane, in the heart of the sacred country dear to Mistral, that he travels the mountain and imagines these massive, primitive compositions, with their dark shimmer. A fan of raw colors during his stay in Paris in 1906/1907, he was part of the “Fauve” movement from the outset. Works from this period are rare.