Gustave LOISEAU
(Paris 1865 - Paris 1935)
Still Life with a Dish of Fried Eggs
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Oil on board.
Signed G. Loiseau in blue oil paint at the lower right.
440 x 554 mm. (17 1/4 x 21 3/4 in.)
Signed G. Loiseau in blue oil paint at the lower right.
440 x 554 mm. (17 1/4 x 21 3/4 in.)
Gustave Loiseau produced several paintings of still-life compositions, particularly in the 1920’s and later. Often painted on board, many of these works were done at Pont-Aven between 1922 and 1928. As Didier Imbert has noted of the painter’s method and technique, ‘essentially impressionist in his depiction of landscapes or street scenes, it acquires for the still-lifes a certain classical resonance, a staid geometric composition, almost synthetic, in which one perceives his preoccupation with immobility, lack of movement, the static quality of the object represented.’
The present work may be dated to around 1923. The ceramic dish in which the eggs are placed is found in a number of paintings by Loiseau, such as a Still Life with Fried Eggs and a Napkin of 1922, or a Still Life with a Lobster, Eggs and Lemon of 1931. The same dish also appears in a Still Life with Eggs and Oysters which appeared at auction in London in 1994.
A photo-certificate from Didier Imbert, dated the 6th of February 2007, accompanies the present work.
The present work may be dated to around 1923. The ceramic dish in which the eggs are placed is found in a number of paintings by Loiseau, such as a Still Life with Fried Eggs and a Napkin of 1922, or a Still Life with a Lobster, Eggs and Lemon of 1931. The same dish also appears in a Still Life with Eggs and Oysters which appeared at auction in London in 1994.
A photo-certificate from Didier Imbert, dated the 6th of February 2007, accompanies the present work.
Abandoning a career as a house painter, Gustave Loiseau took up painting around 1884 and had devoted himself to it entirely by 1887. Apart from a year at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, he was largely self-taught as a painter. In 1890 he stayed for some months in the town of Pont-Aven in Brittany, joining the little artistic community there and befriending painters such as Maxime Maufra and Henry Moret. In 1893 he joined the Société des Artists Indépendants and exhibited six paintings at the group’s annual exhibition. In 1897 Loiseau entered into a contract with the Galerie Durand-Ruel, which agreed to buy most of his paintings, thereby allowing the artist a measure of financial freedom. For the remainder of his career, he was to travel tirelessly in Brittany, Normandy and the Ile-de-France, painting numerous landscapes along the Seine and elsewhere. His style remained distinctively his own; as Loiseau once noted of himself, ‘I only acknowledge one quality, that of being sincere. I work in my own little corner, as well as I can, and do my best to convey the impression I receive from nature. Only my instinct guides me, and I am proud I do not resemble anyone.’
Literature
To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the work of Gustave Loiseau by Didier Imbert.
Exhibition
Possibly Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Gustave Loiseau, 1965, no.44 (‘Oeufs sur le plat, 1923, 46 x 55 cm.’)