Léon Detroy (1859-1955) "the Zinnias ~1930" School Of Crozant, Gillée, Creuse, Guillaumin

Very pretty oil/canvas by Léon Detroy representing a bouquet of zinnias around 1930/40, signed lower left. Format of the canvas alone without frame 55x38cm. It is therefore a new canvas by Léon Detroy (soon a second representing a landscape of Creuse) which therefore represents a still life with a bouquet of zinnias, an emblematic subject of Léon Detroy; in fact, as he had an enormous bed of zinnias in his garden at Gargilesse, Detroy painted them in every way, in bouquets, in beds, in jettys... We immediately recognize the touch so specific to Detroy, in small commas, just like its palette, lively and colorful where soft greens, pinks, carmine reds, oranges or purples dominate. A great painter among the greats, I only briefly present Léon Detroy, leader with Guillaumin, of the now famous Crozant School. With Guillaumin, these two painters will share the honors, the students, the friends but also the sites of the Creuse valley, Detroy being more attached to Gargilesse and its surroundings, while Guillaumin was more attached to Crozant and its surroundings. So first installed in Crozant, then in Fresselines and Gargilesse, he will become an essential figure in the Creuse valley. He had studied in Paris alongside Lebourg, like the latter, he left school quite quickly, as it was too academic for him. He will meet the Creuse around 1888, after having read Geoge Sand, and there he will meet Maurice Rollinat, Monet and will become the friend of Alluaud with whom he will share trips to Italy or to Agay where he will meet other great painters of the time, such as Valtat, Van den Eckout, Anquetin etc... who will be faithful to him all their lives. He was recognized by many artists and critics of the time, Salmon, Wilette... His techniques evolved throughout his life; he will adopt the touch, then become almost Fauve with a broader touch, then mix small touches and large flat areas like here, until stylizing his motifs, whether in the Creuse, on the Côte d'Azur, in Collioure, in Italy, the Maghreb, Holland, Belgium, Brittany etc... he was therefore a great traveler, but it was the edges of the Mediterranean which attracted the artist the most. At the end of his career, based in Gargillesse, he would hardly do anything other than still lifes, but they would have had a very important part in his career, some of which would be true masterpieces, as much as his landscapes; This one proves it to us once again. And even at the end of its life, the charm will continue to operate as its painting remains TRUE and SINCERE! Finally recognized as being one of the greatest painters of the Creuse valley, if not the greatest, his reputation continues to grow, even more so since the recent exhibition and the excellent work of Pascal Goes published by Les Ardents publishers: "Léon Detroy, a post-impressionist, from the lights of the south to the Creuse valley". This canvas is in very good original condition, delivered framed in a modern gilded carved frame. Guaranteed authentic work