Mediterranean Landscape - Alphonse Moutte (1840-1913)

Charming Mediterranean landscape by the great Marseille painter Alphonse Moutte (1840-1913) representing a roadside near a forest, notably a cypress. This oil on cardboard is inscribed on the reverse of a text from the painter's own family who offered the painting to a friend of the painter, even if the inscription is not legible in its entirety, we can read the name of the painter as well as the first name of his son Marcel who offered the painting. Comes from the descendants of the Avignon painter Clément Brun (1865-1920). Very good condition, Some moisture stains on the reverse. Oil on cardboard 31 x 38 cm Frame early 20th century
Born into an old Provençal family, he took classes at the Thiers high school where he rubbed shoulders with Horace Bertin, then at the Marseille School of Fine Arts 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 workshop of Ernest Meissonier. Returning to Marseille in 1891, he succeeded Dominique Antoine Magaud in 1895 as director of the Marseille School of Fine Arts. 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 Marseille which are testimonies of Marseille life of his time: his painting The Landing of Wheat in Marseille is one of the most evocative. He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists from 1869 to 1913 and obtained several awards: 3rd class medal in 1881 for Un coin de plage du Prado le matin and another 2nd class medal in 1882 for The fishermen's lunch. He received a silver and a bronze medal respectively at the Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. In 1892 he was named a member of the Marseille Academy and in 1893 he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. He died in Marseille on April 21, 1913 in his property, Traverse de la Croix de Fer.