Georges William Thornley Landscape At Saint-nectaire

Very beautiful watercolor representing a landscape located in Saint-Nectaire in the Puy de Dôme. Good general condition, traces of an old frame on the top and right edges. Very slight small crease. The frame is not glazed. Beautiful and rare representation of the central massif by this traveling painter. Lithographer of Monet and Pissarro From his father, Georges William Thornley inherited two passions: painting and a taste for travel. From his adolescence, his sense of sketching and his ability to reproduce are impressive. Great artists, such as Ciceri, Yon or Sirony, advised him and quickly made him evolve towards excellence. In 1878, at the age of 21, the artist already exhibited at the prestigious Salon de Paris. He even obtained an honorable mention in 1881 and a medal in 1888. But the prices do not make him dream. He prefers beautiful landscapes and travel. His move to Osny in 1892 gave him the opportunity to travel across the Vexin and discover Pontoise. There he met Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, the masters of impressionist painting, with whom he befriended. At that time, the great artists sought to reproduce their works. Only lithography, a process of reproduction on paper using a grease pencil and limestone, allows the initial work to be respected. But the talent of an excellent artist, capable of capturing the soul of the painted picture and reproducing it with a ready line, is necessary. Georges William Thornley thus became the lithographer of Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. In 1900, he printed up to 108 copies of 25 different works, including “Le marché place Notre-Dame” by Pontoise, produced by Pissarro. In the collections of the Tavet museum, a portrait of Sabattini holds a special place. Georges William Thornley hides behind a gentle face, barred with azure eyes adorned with a white beard, typical of the Second Empire. This talented painter, who was Monet's favorite lithographer, lived and is buried in Pontoise. His paintings testify to the picturesque charm of the city at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Talented landscaper But Georges William Thornley does not only reproduce the works of others. His own paintings are also very talented. He often sets up his easel in Pontoise, on the banks of the Oise, in the alleys or in the heart of the squares. In particular, he produced watercolors of the Saint-Maclou church, the Place du Grand Martroy and its markets, the Chemin du Clos (current rue Éric de Martimprey) and the Saint-Martin district. “Thornley gives us a living testimony to his time. His canvases are not fixed and represent characters in motion, which is rather innovative. Generally, his works play on the white or colored tone of the background”, analyzes Christophe Duvivier, the director of the Tavet museum, which keeps several works by the artist. During his life, the painter was considered a great traveler, working in Provence, Brittany, Normandy and on the peaks of the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Vosges. But his attachment to Pontoise never ceased until his death on August 31, 1935 at Pontoise hospital. He has since been buried in the municipal cemetery. Source: The dimensions indicated are those of the watercolor