Georges Darnet (1859-1936) Banks Of The Isle River Dordogne Périgord

Georges DARNET
(Périgueux 1859 - 1936)
Bords de l'Isle
Oil on panel
H. 25 cm; L. 31 cm
Provenance : Private collection, Périgueux

Georges Darnet was born in Périgueux, to a family of tailors from the banks of the Dordogne around Lalinde through his father and to a family of butchers from the capital of the department through his mother . He grew up and continued his studies in Périgueux before joining Bordeaux to be a boarder at the School of Fine Arts. Unfortunately, we do not know the details of his life or his career, but we do know that he will be under the leadership of Louis Auguin, a famous Bordeaux painter representing all the dunes of the Atlantic coast. It is certainly through learning alongside the master that he will opt for works with light and luminous shades where the color will never take precedence over the downy atmosphere. Upon his return to Périgueux after his studies, Georges Darnet became a professor at the city's drawing school that Jean-Georges Pasquet directed. This painter who is eight years his senior will become his faithful friend. They will work side by side on the pattern on their free days. He was mobilized during the First World War, at the age of 55, and was wounded three times until February 1918, which earned him the Croix de Guerre, without even being demobilized. However, he did not abandon his brushes, and even presented his works at the Salon des Artistes Français of which he was already a member in his youth, and where he obtained an honorable mention in 1920 and a third medal in 1928.

This small, very bright panel represents the banks of the Isle upstream of Périgueux. Darnet is a regular in this area where he produces many paintings that he presents in particular at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. Here we are at the end of summer where the vegetation begins to yellow slightly, bringing real vigor to the artist's classic tones.