A Charming Oil on Panel painting of a Pontoon on the Seine River Banks by Pierre Louis Léger Vauthier.
Born in 1845 in Pernambuco, Brazil, Pierre Louis Léger Vauthier was born into a French family. His father was a civil engineer.
After becoming an engineer like his father, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became a student of Maxime Lalanne.
He exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1874, quickly receiving critical acclaim.
He received numerous awards, including one at the 1889 Universal Exhibition and one at the 1900 Exposition.
He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1895.
He passed away in Beauchamps (Val-d’Oise) in 1916.
His paintings are exhibited in numerous French and foreign museums, including Orsay, the Louvre, the Petit Palais, and Carnavalet.
An Impressionist painter, he frequented the influential circle of painters of this period and shared with them the reflections and evolution of their style.
We feature here a charming small format, perhaps suggestive of a study, which plein-air painters created to capture a landscape, a moment, or a particular atmosphere.
These studies were highly prized in the late 19th century for decorating bourgeois interiors.
They were interesting for two reasons: they allowed artists to prepare larger works and the quick resale of smaller formats at a good price.
Vauthier often depicted the banks of the Seine and its tributaries.
This panel seems to be one of these depictions. A deserted pontoon to which a solitary boat is moored in an early autumn atmosphere where the trees are adorned in their finest attire…
The range of shades chosen is very broad and bold, with the choice to place this blue pontoon amidst the warm autumnal hues.
The brushstrokes remain precise and lively, and the brushstrokes are always clearly visible.
A lovely Impressionist work by this highly talented painter.
Oil on panel, signed lower right, in a giltwood frame.
Unframed 8 x 10 inches
Framed 10.5 x 12.5 inches