A colorful oil on panel rendition of the Rue Norvins in Montmartre, Paris by Elisée MACLET.
Born in Picardy in 1881 in the small village of Lihons, Jules Emile Elisée was the son of a laundress and a gardener, verger, and sacristan.
Thus, at the age of 10, he became a gardener’s assistant and altar boy.
After his mother’s death in 1906, the young 25-year-old Maclet decided to try his luck in Paris and settled on the Butte Montmartre.
He had a difficult start, like almost all painters of the time. He accepted every job that came his way, first at the Moulin Rouge with the “Chérettes,” then became a gardener at the Moulin de la Galette, while painting the streets and nooks and crannies of the Butte. A friend of Utrillo’s took him to the Lapin Agile, where he sold his works to the regulars. Degas gave him some advice in his studio on Rue de Clichy. Maclet began to make a name for himself, selling his paintings to local dealers.
Landscapes such as the cabarets of the Lapin Agile and the Moulin de la Galette, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, the streets of old Paris, and views of the Seine were masterfully immortalized by Maclet, through a post-impressionist style of a certain childlike simplicity.
Considered a key figure in the evolution of the style of the painter Maurice Utrillo, a solid representative of Montmartre life in 1900, Élisée Maclet left a significant artistic mark on the Paris of the time.
As his success grew in Parisian high society, his artistic role consolidated, to the point that major Parisian gallery owners hung his works alongside those of Van Gogh and Picasso. Élisée Maclet initially developed a “primitivist” style of painting, which earned him a place among the “naive” painters of the early 20th century.
Maclet’s Parisian scenes were very popular, especially after the First World War, and this success continued past the end of his career due to the unique sensitivity and original techniques he demonstrated in his works.
Many French writers appreciated his paintings and wrote about him frequently, including Max Jacob, Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, and Francis Carco.
In 1918, one of them, Francis Carco, lent him a house he rented in Dieppe. Maclet discovered another world there; he painted the sea and Normandy, but the following year, he returned to Montmartre, where people truly appreciated his work.
In 1923, a Parisian antiques dealer introduced him to Baron Von Frey, a wealthy Austrian industrialist who took him on as a contract artist.
His patron invited him to seek a change of scenery and sent him to the South of France, Avignon, Arles, and then the Côte d’Azur, where he painted numerous landscapes, expressing his fascination with Mediterranean nature and culture.
His paintings, while in the South, took on a density and dazzling brilliance, sometimes reminiscent of Matisse.
They his joy and the happiness he felt during this period. He remained in the South until 1928.
The Baron reserved most of Maclet’s works for himself, but also sent them to wealthy collectors in the United States, going as far as donating some to numerous American and European museums.
In 1928, Maclet had his first major solo exhibition at the Barreiro Gallery in Paris, where more than 50 of his works were exhibited.
After the crash of 1929, his contract was terminated, and the financial comfort ended. Austerity was once again the daily life of artists, who had to adapt to these difficult times.
After 1935, Maclet seemed to rediscover his taste for color; he picked up his brushes again and once again walked the streets of Montmartre.
His fresh and poetic colors gave rise to pleasing canvases that regained their former popularity.
Unfortunately, the outbreak of World War II interrupted this new creative momentum, which would only restart after the war.
In 1945, the Norvins Gallery, located at 20 rue Norvins, presented his recent works.
In 1957, the first major retrospective of Maclet’s work was held at the Nicolas Poussin Gallery in Paris.
In 1960, the same gallery presented his work as part of the exhibition “20th Century Paintings”, while another major retrospective was held in 1961 at the Thibaut Gallery in New York.
In the period following his international breakthrough, Maclet was the subject of numerous magazine articles, and over time, several public collections in Europe and America acquired examples of his work, including museums in Paris, Chicago, Princeton, Bremen, Geneva, Sweden, and Norway.
After his death in 1962, Maclet received several posthumous international tributes, including solo exhibitions in Paris, Germany, and Venezuela, as well as a major exhibition at the Vestart Galleries in New York in 1969.
In 2011, the National Gallery of Bermuda organized a solo exhibition of his works. His work is currently represented in several important international collections, both public and private, and several of his paintings are held at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris.
Elisée Maclet’s signed paintings can be dated in time, due to the changes in his signatures over the years.
Regarding this oil painting, we are in his most prosperous and productive period after 1945. The artist was now recognized, frequenting the Montmartre cabarets, artistic and literary circles, life was beautiful…
Parisian galleries are requesting his work, and several galleries are organizing solo exhibitions.
Montmartre is his territory and his main source of inspiration. It is from there that everything originates and to where he always returns.
From this joie de vivre, creations were born, more luminous and colorful than ever, which correspond to the height of the artist’s career.
Montmartre was his territory and his main source of inspiration. It is from there that everything began and always returned to.
The Montmartre hill is home to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica at its center and not far away is the Place du Tertre, known as a gathering place for painters.
The view in our painting is of Rue Norvins, located north of the Place du Tertre.
Maclet reproduces the atmosphere, capturing the shops that were there at the time.
“Maison Catherine,” which still exists, the “Au Cadet de Gascogne” café, and the famous “Au Singe qui Lit” (The Reading Monkey) shop.
A highly symbolic place, opened in 1908 by Emile Boyer, the son of a ragpicker.
He ran an eclectic shop that was both a grocery store and an antique shop, often sitting on his sidewalk, Boyer would take up painting between selling two cones of French fries.
We found a photo of the street dating back to 1946 that mirrors the painting, which you will find photo 6.
This painting therefore tells the story of an entire era, post-war Montmartre, where Parisians were relearning to live normally, despite the persistent hardships.
The composition is well-balanced, with a view down the street that guides our eye into the distance, opening onto a bright sky.
The pure and vibrant colors that warm the whole scene, as well as the black lines that underline or frame the elements, remind us of the close origins of Fauvism, which was born in Paris in the 1905s.
We are in the presence of a very beautiful work by Elisée Maclet, which reflects all the sensitivity of the great artist he was. Classified among the “cursed artists,” the belated recognition of his talent makes his works all the more desirable.
Oil on canvas, signed lower left, presented in a richly patinated wooden frame.
Unframed: 18 x 22 inches
Framed: 25 x 29 inches