ADOLPHE JOSEPH THOMAS MONTICELLI (French 1824-1886)

Description

ADOLPHE JOSEPH THOMAS MONTICELLI (French 1824-1886)
Conversion of St. Paul
Oil on panel
7.5in. x 15.25in.
Signed lower left: M
rovenance: Josef Herman; [Bonham's Knightsbridge, The Josef Herman Collection, November, 2000 lot 26]; private collection, Middlesex, England

Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli was born in Marseille, France and studied painting at the École Municipale de Dessin from 1842 to 1846. At that time, the school was directed by Émile Loubon who encouraged his students to paint directly from nature. Monticelli moved to Paris in 1846 and entered the École des Beaux-Arts under Delaroche. He spent his free time in the Louvre copying works by old master painters.

In the subsequent years Monticelli spent his time divided between Marseilles and Paris. He traveled throughout Provence with Guigou, and together they painted the surrounding landscapes and villages. In 1856 he met Diaz de la Peña, who encouraged him to use bolder colors and a heavier texture. Under the influence of Diaz, he also began adding small figures in his landscapes. That same year Monticelli returned to Marseilles, where he would remain for seven years. He again made landscape studies while earning money with his portraits.

Monticelli returned to Paris in 1863 and specialized in painting fashionable society in lush landscapes, recalling the works of Watteau. He also encountered some impressionist painters, and he painted along with Cézanne in the areas around Aix and Marseilles. In his late landscapes Monticelli experimented with paint texture, using thick impasto on a bare canvas to create a dynamic surface. These experiments were to leave a strong impression on Van Gogh, who saw his work at the Galerie Delarebeyrette in Paris in 1886, the year of Monticelli's death.

Monticelli is regarded as a forefather of Abstract Expressionism due to his liberal use of dazzling colors applied with a thick impasto. His paintings are housed in public collections, including Lille, Marseilles, Boston, Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.

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