Alphonse Moutte (1840-1913) Young Peasants Lying In The Grass

A subject full of life and touching, this bucolic scene of a young couple of peasants lying in the grass by the great Marseille naturalist artist Alphonse Moutte.. Brother and sister? or in love? The work full of charm and poetry is a watercolor on paper framed under glass, presented in an elegant black Art Nouveau frame which measures 48 cm by 55 cm and 17.5 cm by 25 cm for the watercolor on sight. In good condition, it is signed lower left. Born into an old Provençal family, he took classes at the Lycée Thiers where he rubbed shoulders with Horace Bertin, then at the School of Fine Arts in Marseille where he notably had Émile Loubon as a teacher. He abandoned the profession of wheat broker to continue learning his art in Paris and worked in the studio of Ernest Meissonier. Returning to Marseille in 1891, he succeeded Dominique Antoine Magaud in 1895 as director of the School of Fine Arts in Marseille. This city and its region offer him his main subjects of inspiration. He becomes a prominent personality; his paintings adorn regional museums. He painted portraits, genre scenes and views of the port of Marseilles which bear witness to life in Marseilles in his time: his painting The Unloading of Wheat in Marseilles is one of the most evocative. He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists from 1869 to 1913 and won several awards: 3rd class medal in 1881 for Un coin de plage du Prado le matin and another 2nd class in 1882 for Le luncheon of fishermen. He received respectively a silver and a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. In 1892 he was made a member of the Academy of Marseilles and in 1893 he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. He died in Marseille on April 21, 1913 at his property, Traverse de la Croix de Fer. A boulevard bears his name in the 13th arrondissement of Marseille. Works in Public Collections Museum of Fine Arts of Béziers: La Chevrière Museum of Grenoble: By the fireside Museum of Fine Arts of Marseille: The Fishermen's Lunch or The Régalade: in the center a standing fisherman, in clogs and stockings of a convict, wearing a Catalan beret, drinks at the regalade; on the left, a kneeling cabin boy is blowing on a small stove to fan the fire while three other seated fishermen are getting ready to have lunch. On the right a tartane with sagging sails is attached to the shore. The Frioul Islands stand out on the horizon. The Landing of wheat in Marseilles: To create this canvas, Moutte rents a shop on the Quai de Rive-Neuve in order to better reproduce this scene. Corner of Prado beach: a fish carrier runs barefoot on the sand to deliver his catch. To create this painting, the artist is on this beach every morning to paint his painting · Academy of Marseilles: Self-portrait · Marine Museum (Marseilles): Unloading a brig in Marseilles; The ports of Marseilles (view from the Pharo gardens) · Musée Fabre, Montpellier: Catalan fishermen around Marseille. Nantes Museum of Fine Arts: The Song of the Whip