Adolphe Jules Péterelle (1876 – 1947) - “the Bathers” Circa 1920

Oil on canvas signed lower left
Dimensions: 65 x 54 cm, with frame: 88.5 x 78 cm
Framing of the Dury & Morel establishment - 23 rue Auguste Comte in Lyon

“Les baigneuses” circa 1920; an expressionist, dreamlike painting, an ode to freedom and femininity

Bathers sketching synchronized dance steps outside the water. A deep blue climate that creates a deep and intense as well as mysterious atmosphere. Thunder could burst from this sky, the orange silhouettes of these ladies stand out against this dark background.
They lounge, at ease, in and outside the water, offering some movements with their arms, their bodies straight, remaining upright in the water. Clouds appear in the sky and echo the whitish foam or foam of the water in the foreground.
A dreamlike dimension emerges from this painting whose composition is an ode to freedom and femininity. It is exclusively women who stand before us, which adds a touch to the sensual nature of this painting.

Biography:

French painter and draftsman, active in Switzerland and France In 1886, Adolphe Péterelle decided to become a painter: he took courses at the School of Fine Arts in Geneva from 1887 to 1891. He went to Paris to age seventeen. In 1898, the animal painter Henri Deluermoz welcomed him into his studio. Subsequently, he moved to the Bateau-Lavoir in 1900, where he met Steinlen, Aristide Bruant and Picasso.
From 1900 to 1904, he worked on the decoration of pottery in Choisy-le-Roi, meeting Émile Lenoble, who provided designs to the earthenware factory.
A forty-year friendship will bind them. Around 1809-1809, he settled permanently in Cité Falguière. With the sculptor Joseph Bernard, he studied the theme of dance at length. He was a solitary artist, of a mystical temperament and did nothing to publicize his work, although his artistic production was considerable. He depicted people in their daily activities, alluding to their inner thoughts and feelings (washers, girl playing the tambourine, musician, cellist). He also liked to depict women (nudes, bathing women, dancers) and made a large number of drawings using various techniques - pencil, Indian ink, red chalk, gouache.
Péterelle participated in group exhibitions at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Tuileries. He also held personal exhibitions in Paris: Galerie Bernheim (1930), Galerie Charpentier (1938) and Galerie de France (1942). In 1952, a major retrospective of his work (106 paintings and 74 drawings) took place at the Galliera Museum.

Bibliography

• “Péterelle, Adolphe”, Bénézit, Oxford Art Online, October 31, 2011
• Adolphe Péterelle (1874 –1947), Paris, Musée Galliéra (November 12-30, 1952), 1952

Museums

. In Paris: Center Pompidou, modern art museum of the city of Paris, regional contemporary art fund of the city of Paris.

. In France: Grenoble Museum of Fine Arts, national center of plastic arts.

. Abroad: New York: MOMA.