(Dol-de-Bretagne 1853 - Bordeaux 1939)
Saint Antoine bridge in Clisson
Oil on canvas
H. 50 cm; L. 61 cm
Signed lower right, dated 1905
Provenance: Private collection, south-east of France
Louis Cabié, renowned artist in France and particularly in the Bordeaux region, even during his lifetime, circulated in the great south-west throughout his life. Pupil of Harpignies whose passion for vegetation is found in the style of the Barbizon school, he will transcribe until his death the simplicity of the picturesque French landscapes. Spectacular trees, forest atmospheres, places steeped in history, bewitching valleys, or even a landscape in its simplest form that it will know how to raise with a vital contrast.
It was in 1899, that Louis-Alexandre Cabié seems to pass for the first time on the banks of the Sèvre Nantaise, representing on several occasions that year, a windmill, the bridge of Clisson, as well as a view of the town and the feudal castle. Full of light, these different paintings show us the region in summer, in full sun or in gray weather, almost as heavy as our canvas. Such a representation of an “urban” landscape is quite unusual for Cabié, who devotes himself to pure natural landscape 98% of the time.
The old Saint-Antoine bridge which spans the Moine is located below the medieval fortress that the painter hides. Its goal is not in the grandiose, but in the composition.
We are looking for any work or any information relating to the artist to complete his biography as well as a catalog raisonné in progress.