A Luminous Oil on Canvas of the 1889 Paris World Trade Fair, by French Painter 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.
This Impressionist touch is found in the treatment of the characters, who are not detailed but simply depicted by small applications of color, skillfully combined.
The same is true for the little boy facing us. If he seems more present than the other characters, it is because he is facing us.
However, no feature is detailed. It is the ambient atmosphere that emanates from the canvas that remains the main subject.
The event attracted a large crowd, dressed in their finest attire…
Top hats, bowler hats, straw hats, the men are all wearing hats, as is a high-ranking military officer in ceremonial uniform. The women also wear hats or headdresses.
A costumed performance is taking place on a stage, entertaining the passersby who are crowding into this avenue decorated with French colors.
The 1889 World’s Fair saw, among other things, the construction of the Eiffel Tower…
This painting by Vauthier is a testament to a glorious economic and artistic period at the end of the radiant 19th century.
Masterfully rendered, with a touch imbued with that power that only Impressionism was able to convey through its works.
A pure masterpiece by Pierre Vauthier.
Original oil on canvas, signed with the artist’s stamp in the lower right corner.
Wax seal of the Pierre Vauthier Studio on the back, on the stretcher. Presented in an antique, patinated Louis XIV style frame.
Unframed 22 x 18
Framed 30 x 27