.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Marie-Anne Destrebecq-Martin will include this work in her forthcoming Henri Martin catalogue raisonné.
Born in Toulouse, Martin persuaded his working-class family to allow him to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist. After studying locally at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, Martin later relocated to Paris with the support of a scholarship and studied in the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens. At 23 years old, he first received a medal of recognition at the Paris Salon in 1883 and three years later went on to hold his first exhibition there. He soon found that he missed the warm light of Southern France and longed to return to the idyllic environment he was raised in. Martin would later move to the village of Labastide-du-Vert in the south-west of France, where he had freedom and access to the beauty and serenity of nature that he missed in Paris. It was here that Martin’s unique style reached its maturity.
Perched high on a cliff in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia sits the abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou. A warm, dappled sun bathes the imposing 11th century fortress in Martin’s romantic painting. Reminiscent of works by Georges Seurat, the present work is an exemplary offering of the artists notable experimentation with atmospheric Pointillism, the Neo-Impressionist method of modeling form with contrasting colored marks. As a result, the static composition is enlivened with staccato brushwork and bold coloring. This highly finished canvas is a peaceful expression of the artist's ideal world.
Born in Toulouse, Martin persuaded his working-class family to allow him to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist. After studying locally at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, Martin later relocated to Paris with the support of a scholarship and studied in the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens. At 23 years old, he first received a medal of recognition at the Paris Salon in 1883 and three years later went on to hold his first exhibition there. He soon found that he missed the warm light of Southern France and longed to return to the idyllic environment he was raised in. Martin would later move to the village of Labastide-du-Vert in the south-west of France, where he had freedom and access to the beauty and serenity of nature that he missed in Paris. It was here that Martin’s unique style reached its maturity.
Perched high on a cliff in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia sits the abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou. A warm, dappled sun bathes the imposing 11th century fortress in Martin’s romantic painting. Reminiscent of works by Georges Seurat, the present work is an exemplary offering of the artists notable experimentation with atmospheric Pointillism, the Neo-Impressionist method of modeling form with contrasting colored marks. As a result, the static composition is enlivened with staccato brushwork and bold coloring. This highly finished canvas is a peaceful expression of the artist's ideal world.