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GUSTAVE LOISEAU | Voilier dans le port de Ferrière, les Martigues,
Executed circa 1913, signed lower left, G. Loiseau.
Oil on Canvas
116.8 x 139.2 cms / 46 x 54 ¾ inches
Voilier dans le port de Ferrière, les Martigues encapsulates a period of great transition within Loiseau’s oeuvre. Intertwining strands from his artistic heritage in Renoir, Maufra, and Monet with aspirations for a more explicitly Post-Impressionist style, this port scene is symbolic of the changing characters of artist and subject alike. Despite the dynamism of the brushstrokes, the scene is one of contemplation and calm, evoking the quiet of a Provençale evening.
Loiseau is one of the most foremost Post-Impressionist painters. He rebelled against the traditional practices of painting and joined the famous artists’ colony at Pont-Aven in Brittany in 1890. There he became companions with Henry Moret, Maxime Maufra and Paul Gauguin and under their influence, Loiseau embraced the use of bold colour and sought to expand and seek new aspects of the Impressionist style.
Like his Impressionist forebearers, Loiseau was a champion of painting the landscape en plein air. In his quest to create movement and light, Loiseau developed a distinct cross hatching technique which resulted in the supple and ephemeral quality for which his work is known.
Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir recognised Loiseau’s artistic talent and introduced him to the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who signed an exclusive contract with Loiseau in 1897. Loiseau’s work was exhibited widely during his lifetime and can be found in many notable museums and private collections.
