Louis Latapie

Portrait of Renée

1941

'Parc des Buttes-Chaumont' in Paris, gouache on art paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). A charming depiction of well turned out Parisians enjoying a day at the park. Boaters, strollers and swans all co-mingle around the peaceful lake. The reflection of the rocky bluff in the water is superbly treated by Génin. It's a cheerful and uplifting image of days-gone-by in 1930s Paris. The park takes its name from the 'bare hill' (chauve-mont) that once occupied the site. It became a place where gypsum was mined, and where the limestone was quarried to be used in buildings in Paris and the United States. Worse, though, it was a site that also became a dumping ground. Luckily, during the 19th-century renovation of Paris under Napoleon III, chauve-mont was chosen as a place for a large park, as part of the emperor's fascination with endowing Paris with green spaces. The artificial lake created at that time wraps around a hilly central island. The lake attracts waterfowl and other birds and is stocked with fish. The 19th-century planners cleaned up the site and added tons of soil to fill the pits left by a limestone mining operation. Then dynamite was used to "sculpt" the site into the craggy shapes seen today, including the 50-metre-high central hill with cliffs, an interior grotto, pinnacles, and arches. Up on top, overlooking the rest of the park - and depicted in this artwork - is a small, round belvedere, based on the Roman Temple of Vesta in Italy. From that spot you can see a lovely view of Montmartre and the white cupolas of the Sacre-Coeur. The painting is in very good condition. It has been newly framed and glazed with museum-quality glass (anti-reflective and UV protection) to preserve this significant artwork for decades to come. Dimensions with frame: H 62 cm / 24.4" W 76 cm / 29.9" Dimensions without frame: H 48.5 cm / 19.1" W 63 cm / 24.8" About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...

'Man Smoking a Pipe', oil on carton (circa 1960s), by Raymond Debiève. The artist depicts a moustached man puffing on his pipe in his post-cubist style. The identity of the subject i...

'Portrait of a Young Man', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). Big, bold with brash brush strokes painted in exuberant colours is the tr...

'Portrait of Blue-Eyed Woman', oil on board, signed by artist, Ayral, French School (circa 1960s). Discovered in the South of France, this small portrait is painted with vibrant colo...

Mid-century fauvist portrait of a girl with colorful, textured impasto by Mary Sheppard (American, 20th Century), 1956. Signed and dated "Mary Sheppard '56" lower right. Unframed. Im...

CELSO LAGAR Spanish, 1891 - 1966 THE CLOWN signed and dated "Lagar 52" (lower right) gouache on cardboard 10-5/8 x 8 inches (27 x 20.5 cm.) PROVENANCE Private French Collector Cel...

Jadviga Žilvinska (1918-2010) was born in Tallinn. She grew up in Liepāja, where her great interest in art began and strengthened, which led the young artist to study at the Art Aca...

Albert Marquet was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, ...