Pierre Vauthier (1845 – 1916) - The Cattle Market, Circa 1880

 Oil on canvas Signed lower right
Located on the back "Forges les eaux-Seine lower"
 Dimensions: 55 x 65 cm With frame: 73 x 85 cm

This is a very early impressionist work in the work of Pierre Vauthier. We can place it around 1880. Seine-Maritime, cradle of Impressionism, was the land of welcome for Impressionist painters, all dazzled by its incomparable light. The very lively scene is located in the pretty village of Forges-les-eaux in a green setting. The atmosphere is at work, the horse dealers discuss and negotiate. Beasts and men mingle forming a compact group. The subject, the touch and the point of view are the mark of an impressionist painter. The typical scene, the rural and anecdotal subject, which shows without really showing, are the sign of the painter's talent. Rather than the subject, he favors the atmosphere.

Pierre Vauthier and his brother Réné, also a landscape painter, were born in Pernambuco, Brazil, to French parents. Impressionist painter, pupil, like his brother, of Maxime Lalanne, he made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1874. Pierre Vauthier quickly met with success. Hailed by critics, it won numerous awards. He was made a member of the Society of French Artists in 1883, obtained honorable mention at the Salon of 1884, received the medal of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1895. He was one of the painters of his generation who participated in the Exhibition Universal of 1889 and that of Paris, in 1900. Pierre Vauthier paints landscapes of the Paris region. Attracted by the city and country charm of the suburbs as well as Normandy, he restores its softness and good humor in canvases bathed in delicate light.

Bibliography: • Gerald Schurr, Pierre Cabane, “Dictionary of the little masters of painting, 1820-1920”, Volume 2, Paris, Editions de l'amateur, 1982, p. 117 • Emmanuel Bénézit, “Dictionary of painters, sculptors, designers and engravers”, t. 14, Librairie Gründ, reed. 1976, p. 75 • Lydia Harambourg, “French landscape painters in the 19th century”, Paris, Ides et Calendes, 1985

Museums: • In Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Petit Palais, Musée Carnavalet, Department of Graphic Arts, Musée du Louvre. • Antwerp, Bourges, Chambéry Museum of Fine Arts, Draguignan, Moulins.