A beautiful Oil on Canvas painting of a Barges on the Loing River by French Painter Maurice Martin.
Born in Mormant (Seine-et-Marne) in 1894, he showed a talent for drawing from a very young age.
Maurice Martin had to help his father in the family house-painting business.
He saw an opportunity when his father decided to relocate the business to Paris.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough money to enroll at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
In 1914, he was drafted and wounded on the front lines and subsequently was hospitalized in Lyon, where he took the opportunity to draw and paint.
Back in Paris, he frequented the studios of “La Grande Chaumière” and “Pierre Rigaud.”
Encouraged by those around him, he began his first exhibitions in 1932, notably at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon d’Automne, and the Salon des Artistes Français.
Around 1936, Maurice Martin discovered the Loing Valley, whose attraction to he shared with his fellow painter Montezin.
Their meeting would be an opportunity for a true dialogue between equals through the medium of painting, a dialogue that could be compared to that of two maestros playing the same score, but in different styles.
Jean Rigaud, son of the painter P. Rigaud in whose studio Maurice Martin trained, gave us the professional’s verdict after that of the aesthete who appreciated Martin’s work:
“Far from copying, he interprets nature and light with complete freedom… What is striking about this painter is that he works with oils with such mastery that the work appears effortlessly created, the vision clear yet moving, and everything is said without being abruptly asserted.
His texture is rich and nourished, and his brushstrokes make the light vibrate.”
Maurice Martin explored lands other than those of France, capturing the atmosphere of Morocco around 1950, Tunisia around 1961, and then Madagascar and Asia, regions from which he brought back shimmering scenes of color.
His work received the accolades it deserved on numerous occasions, including the following awards: – 1936 prize at the Salon des Artistes Français – 1942 silver medal at the same salon; 1946 gold medal at the Salon des Artistes Français, Corot Prize, Rosa Bonheur Prize – 1950 Morocco Prize – 1961 Madagascar Prize – 1969 Tunisia Prize.
Numerous exhibitions marked his career in France and abroad (London, Tokyo, New York, USA, Vienna, Pushkin Museum, the Hermitage, etc.).
He passed away in Paris in 1978.
This magnificent interpretation of the barges moored on the Loing River gives us a glimpse of the full technique of this intimate and discreet,
yet incredibly talented, artist.
Using a palette of neutral tones, he knows how to create an extraordinary depth in his composition through the construction of his drawing.
A bold but typically Impressionist choice to occupy a third of the canvas with this riverbank in the foreground, which propels the eye beyond and creates the depth of the work.
The barges, fortresses of the rivers, seem pacified by the languid Loing, which reflects them.
Only a few highlights of color on the boats catch the eye.
A beautiful work, full of confidence and mastery by Maurice Martin, a personal favorite of mine.
Original oil on canvas, signed lower left
Dimensions:
25 3/4 X 21 inches
33 X 28 1/2 inches