Charles Guilloux (1866-1946), Spring In Gouédic, Saint Brieuc, Bretagne, Signed Pastel, 1899

Charles-Victor Guilloux (1866 – 1946)
Spring in Gouédic, near Saint-Brieuc in the Bretagne region, 1899
Pastel on paper
Dimensions of the composition: 227 x 320 mm
Signed and dated lower left: “C. Guilloux 99”

Framed, under glass
Dimensions with frame: 47 x 58 cm

Original mounting, the work is titled, certainly by the artist himself, in pencil under the marie-louise (see photograph)

Excellent condition

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Charles-Victor Guilloux was a painter of landscapes inspired by Symbolism and by the Nabi group, to which he was close. A self-taught artist, he was an employee of the Bibliothèque Nationale and enjoyed, every Sunday, exploring various places, drawing and taking notes there to then continue his work in the workshop.

From 1891, when he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants alongside Georges Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec, his works were noticed by the finest art critics of the time, Roger Marx, Gustave Geoffroy and Félix Fénéon. A year later, in 1892, and again in 1896 and 1898, his talent was highlighted during personal exhibitions by one of the most innovative gallery owners of this period, Le Barc de Boutteville, the discoverer of the Nabis. In 1901, he exhibited at Durand-Ruel.

In the vast horizons he created, the atmosphere of the place is captured in the smallest details, according to the changes of the seasons and the light. When he exhibited his works, Guilloux most often indicated the moment of the day he had represented, to guide the viewer's feelings about his work.

Here, it is a spring day in Brittany, in 1899. One may feel the influence of Gauguin, Sérusier, Charles-Marie Dulac and certainly Van Gogh, in the movement of the trees. This pastel drawing is composed with a very subtle sense of harmony, where the sky is radiant. The horizon line is suggested by an almost fluorescent halo, certainly a magical moment when the artist made it appear under his fingers. Each detail is fascinating, the blossoming of white flowers, the colorful movement of the trees, the perspective which guides the eye as the path guides the two silhouettes. They turn their backs and lose themselves in the landscape, in perfect harmony with the symbolist poetry of this period. Guilloux's landscapes depicting characters are rare.

This pastel has retained all of its freshness and colorful harmony since the day in 1899 when Guilloux signed it. Its contemplation is a constantly renewed pleasure.