Painting Of A Vase Of Flowers On An Entablature

Clément Gontier was born in Lavaur on May 15, 1876 to a wheelwright father and a housewife mother. Nothing predestined this child from a modest background to a career as a painter. After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, Gontier returned to the capital and entered the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens in September. He also took lessons from Benjamin Constant around 1900. He participated in the Salon des Artistes français in 1895. His career really began with participation in the competition for the Prix de Rome in 1901 where he received the "second Grand Prix" which, although it did not allow him to join the French Academy in Rome, nevertheless earned him the praise of the Parisian press. History painting holds a special place in the artist's work. But the bankruptcy of historical painting forced Gontier to practice painting more in line with the market. He multiplies the "pleasant subjects" of bouquets and other still lifes. He died of Spanish flu in 1918 at the Castres complementary hospital. Our painting is part of the series of bouquets that the painter executed at the very beginning of the 20th century. He excels in these representations of bouquets of flowers with profusions of shimmering colors. Like our canvas, Clément Gontier's still lifes are always brightly colored, well treated and spectacular. Our painting is very decorative, an explosion of colors in a Montparnasse frame in perfect condition. The painting, in perfect condition, was restored by the Genovesio workshops in 2009.