Louis Valtat (French, 1869-1952). Mère et enfant, 1910. Oil on canvas. 38-1/2 x 51 inches (97.8 x 129.5 cm). Initialled ... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

Louis Valtat (French, 1869-1952)
Mère et enfant, 1910
Oil on canvas
38-1/2 x 51 inches (97.8 x 129.5 cm)
Initialled lower right: L.V.

PROPERTY FROM A PROMINENT HOUSTON, TEXAS ESTATE

PROVENANCE:
Juster Gallery, New York;
Private collection, Texas, acquired by the above, 1962.

Louis Valtat was among the pioneers and most significant proponents of early 20th-century Modernism in France. As a young student in Paris, Valtat became associated with a rebellious group of student artists known as Les Nabis, including Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, who had banded together at the Académie Julian and forged a cutting edge approach to art. The Nabis retained the elements of representation, but simplified and flattened shapes, created an unrealistic sense of space, used patterning, and unexpected colors, all of which created a decorative surface, directly inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.

Armed with tenets from the Nabis, and influences from Van Gogh and the Pointillists, Valtat began to develop his own distinctive style, which came under another powerful inspiration in 1905. That year he participated in the groundbreaking first exhibition of the Fauvist group at the Salon d'Automne along with Matisse, Vlaminck, Derain and others. The term Fauves was coined by a critic writing pejoratively about these 'Wild Beasts' ' use of unprecedentedly bold, painterly shapes and fiery colors. Though he was associated with the movement, Valtat always remained on the periphery, adopting the bright colors and painterly forms, but never quite embracing the degree of distortion in line and abandonment of local color of others in the group.

Valtat's Mère et enfant sur la canapé of 1910 is a remarkable example of the artist's personal synthesis of the most modern art movements of his period. This work likely depicts the artist's wife and son whom he often painted at their home in Versailles. Grand in scale yet intimate, and bold yet tender, this work moves beyond an intellectual exercise to a warm glimpse into Valtat's personal life.

This painting will be included in the archives of the Association of the Friends of Louis Valtat under the number 3885.


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