Pierre Vauthier (1845 – 1916)
Relaxation on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Oil on canvas
Stamp of the workshop at the bottom right and on the back of the canvas
Dimensions: 46 x 55cm
With frame 75 x 85 cm
The subject, the touch and the point of view are the mark of an impressionist painter. The typical scene, the rustic and anecdotal subject, which shows without really showing, referring a curious point of view to a worked perspective are the sign of the painter’s talent. Rather than the subject, he favors the atmosphere.
Pierre Vauthier and his brother Réné, also a landscape painter, were born in Pernambuco, Brazil, to French parents. Impressionist painter, pupil, like his brother, of Maxime Lalanne, he made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1874. Pierre Vauthier quickly met with success. Hailed by critics, he won numerous awards.
He was made a member of the Society of French Artists in 1883, obtained honorable mention at the Salon of 1884, received the medal of Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1895. He was one of the painters of his generation who participated in the Universal Exhibition of 1889 and that of Paris in 1900.
Pierre Vauthier paints landscapes of the Paris region. Attracted by the city and country charm of the suburbs, he restores its softness and good humor in canvases bathed in delicate light. Here, the painter dwells on a landscape typical of the Parisian bourgeoisie; the Island of La Grande Jatte.
Pleasants go there on Sundays, to enjoy the air and nature outside the industrial capital. Here, a couple sits on the banks, a walker, blue spot, appears on the way. The painter represents the wooden barge, operating manually on a pulley, which allows the Seine to be crossed from one bank to that of the island.
Bibliography:
• Gerald Schurr, Pierre Cabane, “Dictionary of the little masters of painting, 1820-1920”, Volume 2, Paris, Editions de l’amateur, 1982, p. 117
• Emmanuel Bénézit, “Dictionary of painters, sculptors, designers and engravers”, t. 14, Librairie Gründ, reed. 1976, p. 75
• Lydia Harambourg, “French landscape painters in the 19th century”, Paris, Ides et Calendes, 1985
Museums:
• In Paris, Musée d’Orsay, Musée du Petit Palais, Musée Carnavalet, Department of Graphic Arts, Musée du Louvre.
• Antwerp, Bourges, Chambéry Museum of Fine Arts, Draguignan, Moulins.
