Ludovic Piette
Ludovic Piette’s impressionist bouquet of flowers, dated 1876, is bold and modern.
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right.
Dimensions: 81 x 57.5 cm
With frame: 102 x 80 cm
On the back, label “Exposition musée de Pontoise, novembre 1997-mars 1998, n° 51.”
Our painting may be one of two bouquets of flowers (n° 143 or 144) exhibited among the 31 works presented by Ludovic Piette at the 1877 Impressionist exhibition as guest of honor.
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” Ludovic Piette painted his most beautiful impressionist canvases during his stays in Pontoise, offering, to those who knew how to see, an immense feast for the eyes” Beausoleil Jeanne
A bouquet, dated 1876, bold and modern by Ludovic Piette
A multicolored bouquet stands out against a wallpaper print. The blue Nevers earthenware vase with its floral design is placed on an entablature, itself covered with a chamarré carpet. The painter’s bold, talented use of these different motifs and explosive, contrasting colors bring vibrancy and life to the canvas. This bouquet, dated 1876, is bold and modern.
Ludovic Piette, an impressionist painter
A fellow pupil of Edouard Manet, his palette was initially rather dark, but his meeting with his friend Pissaro led him to paint from the motif and to proscribe black. He exhibited with the Impressionists in 1877.
Ludovic Piette had long possessed some of the qualities that made this group of artists famous, notably the freshness of color in his palette.
Biography
Ludovic Piette, a native of the Pays de la Loire region, is the descendant of wealthy landowners from Melleray-la-Vallée (Mayenne).
From an early age, Ludovic Piette was closely involved in artistic circles. He frequented the studios of Thomas Couture and Isidore Pils, before meeting Édouard Manet at the Académie Suisse in Paris. He also frequented Antoine Chintreuil, to name but a few painters.
By 1857, he was exhibiting and gaining recognition. Thanks to his personal fortune, he had a studio in Paris, in the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette district, before his fortunes took a turn for the worse.
Piette specialized in landscapes. He was Camille Pissarro’s closest friend, and in the autumn of 1870, during the war with the Prussians, he welcomed him to his farm in Montfoucault.
In 1874, Pissarro painted the countryside of northern Mayenne during the winter, and his stays and works on this subject continued to multiply until 1877.
Pissarro appreciated Piette for his humor, cheerfulness and generosity. Piette kept some of his friend’s works until his death.
Orders and decorations
His work also includes a number of prestigious commissions, one of which, The Appearance of the Witches in Macbeth, was acquired by the King of Prussia and now hangs in the Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam.
He also composed a floral decoration for the Empress’s apartments at the request of Napoleon III”, according to Ralph Shikes and Paula Harper.
In 1862, for health reasons, he returned to settle permanently at the Montfoucault farm in Melleray-la-Vallée after twelve years of Parisian life and success.
Bibliography
Museums
– Paris, Musée d’Orsay, Musée du Louvre
– Berlin, the carefree castle
– Pontoise, Musée Camille Pissaro, several landscapes.
1978 – First exhibition organized by “Le musée de Pontoise” in honor of Ludovic Piette.
