Scene Of African Life, Congo Africa, 1930 By Guilherme De Oliveira Marques, Marquès

Style: Portuguese School 1930 Condition: Very good condition Technique: Oil on canvas Other: Signed lower left Dimensions: 128/50 cm Dimensions with frame: 148/70 cm Shipping: request a quote Beautiful and large oil on canvas by the painter Guilherme Marques De Oliveira, Around 1930. This composition offers a resolutely modern and sumptuous vision of Africa in the 1930s. Muted silhouettes, of stylized elegance, stand out against a forest background of colorful clarity. The artist sublimates this scene of daily life where nature is a sacred and nourishing force. Africa is a great source of inspiration for Marques De Oliveira who will become a painter of both scenes from the life of the natives but also a decorative painter as evidenced by this large composition. This large-scale work was probably created for a private commission. "Marquès painter of Congo" Guilherme d'Oliveira Marques known as Guilherme Marques is a Portuguese painter and sculptor born in Brazil on October 12 in 1887. He is considered one of the fathers of African painting and Africanism of the 20th century. century. Marques was born in Brazil, but emigrated to the Belgian Congo in 1927 when he was 40, already an established painter. He is fascinated by Congolese landscapes and life and paints local scenes there, and also creates wooden sculptures. Within this unique cultural milieu, he directs his artistic gaze primarily towards the region's inhabitants and rural life, capturing the essence of the surrounding villages with remarkable finesse. The bustling market has notably become a favored subject in his artistic repertoire. These seemingly ordinary but deeply resonant everyday scenes quickly became emblematic of the artist's work, firmly associating him with their vivid and heartfelt depiction. He also created numerous sketches for illustration and publication. He was prolific, creating numerous paintings, as well as sculptures of wooden figures, engravings and sketches. Less known about him is that he is a very good portraitist, appreciated by the missionaries who regularly organize exhibitions for him, and praised for his poetry in his works and for his portraits. This allowed him to be asked to make portraits of dignitaries and politicians as well as artists and writers, among others the painter Allard l'Olivier. In the 1930s, he worked for the newspaper Cosmo-Kin, a polyglot weekly whose first issue dates from Sunday January 4, 1931. He died in Kinshasa and was buried in the Ngombé cemetery on May 15, 1960. Sources: Wikipedia and archives Y. Ysebaert Stele with the bruised splendor of the painter Allard l'Olivier. Illustrated with a portrait of Allard the Olivier by Guilherme d'Oliveira Marques. Léopoldville: Le Courrier d’Afrique, 1933, 20 p. The Leafless Lotus. Seven tales. Illustrated by GO Marques. Léopoldville: Cosmo-Kin, 1934, 63 p. (HC) Africanists, traveling painters: 1860-1960; By Lynne Thornton "Marques' parents, wealthy cotton wholesale manufacturers in Lisbon, had business connections in Para, Brazil, where Guilherme was born. Often traveling between South America and Europe, he studied at the Duke of Abrantes' school in Lisbon and Wales. After the ruin of his parents, he began to work and exhibit his paintings in Lisbon. It was probably around 1929-1930 that he settled in Congo. He made trips to the heart of the country, notably to Kasaï and Uélé, but he was best known for his views of Léopoldville and the surrounding area. His oils and gouaches were then prized by tourists... Biography taken from: Lynne Thornton, Africanist Traveling Painters, ACR éditions