(Dol-de-Bretagne 1853 - Bordeaux 1939)
Nightfall at Saint Georges de Didonne
Oil on panel
H. 15.5 cm; L. 24.5 cm
Signed lower right. Dedicated and dated on the back 1891
Provenance: Collection Mademoiselle A. Cantin; Then by descent; December 14, 2005, Piasa, Drouot Paris, lot 120, estimated €1,500/2,000.
Louis Cabié, renowned artist in France and particularly in the Bordeaux region, even during his lifetime, traveled in the great southwest 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. Saint Georges de Didonne is one of the places most represented by Cabié during his career. We find him on the edge of the Gironde estuary from 1889, and the last works currently listed were produced there in 1910. He set up his easel mainly in Vallières to paint the rocks and the luminous Royan in the background, and presents several of his paintings at the Paris Salon. On the main ones, very large formats, we find a classic landscape with a few holm oaks in front of the water. Our oil painting, much rarer by its light and its framing, is made set back inland, leaving very little glimpse of the sea, and showing us the white cliffs, certainly those of the tip of Suzac. We are looking for any work or any information relating to the artist to complete his biography as well as a catalog raisonné currently being compiled.