René Seyssaud (1867-1952) Chestnut Trees Around Le Ventoux

A great specialist in color, material and light, René Seyssaud presents here a powerful and imposing work, chestnut trees on the foothills of Ventoux, certainly in Villes sur Auzon where the master had his summer quarters. The work in its good original condition is made in oil on canvas, only a few cracks from use, normal for a painting of this format and from this period, it is offered in a simple golden frame which measures 92 cm by 135 cm and 74 cm by 116 cm for the canvas alone. On the back, the label of the famous decorator Eugène Printz who was one of his Parisian dealers at the beginning of the 20th century and various annotations on the stretcher which was certainly used several times by the customary artist of what we call " repentance.” A light cleaning by a professional can be considered, but it can definitely be kept in its “juice”. An exceptional work, signed lower left. A precursor of Fauvism, member of the New School of Avignon, in 1892, Seyssaud sent a message to the Independents as well as to the Champs de Mars. From its foundation, he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, at the Parc de Bouteville in 1897, and in 1899, at Vollard. He achieved all the success he hoped for. His art provokes the strongest reactions in the press. Because, as a critic of the time wrote, it brings “an entirely new note”. These are, says another, speaking of his paintings, spontaneous things which owe nothing to anyone and therefore must be appreciated by those who love the valor, the energetic candor of a man who has had no master and does not want to have a boss". Vollard offers Seyssaud a contract, but he out of loyalty to his friend and Marseille merchant François Honnorat refuses. In 1901, every year he exhibited at Bernheim Jeune. This one, like Vollard offers to take charge of his interests. Seyssaud still prefers to reject this association, however rich it may be - After 1911, Seyssaud stopped exhibiting at Bernheim to choose Rosemberg (1914), Druet (1924), 1927. ), Printz (1929), Georges Petit (1930), Javal and Boudeaix (1933), Printz (1933) -He exhibited in Marseille in 1905, 1907, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1928, 1947, 1949. -A. Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Tunis, etc... -In America in 1947. -Seyssaud participated in official exhibitions in Berlin (1903), Amsterdam (1912), Barcelona (1917, 1929), New York ( 1929), Wiesbaden (1921), Ghent (1922), Stockholm (1923), Geneva (1923,1942), Turin (1951), Marseille Colonial Exhibition (1922), Paris International (1937), Marseille Prefecture (1949 ), Menton Biennale (1951), Cantini Museum (1954), Zurich (1955), Galliera Museum (1956), Oxford, London, Edinburgh (1957), Aix-en-Provence, Festival (1957). -He had state purchases for Luxembourg (1903, 1904, 1921, 1927, 1929, 1930). For the Museums of Marseille (1908, 1919), Lyon (1924), Avignon (1920), Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône (1933), Town Hall of Saint-Chamas (1909), National Museum of Modern Art (1957). -It is represented at the Petit Palais, at the Museum of Modern Art, at the Léon Dierx Museum (Reunion Island), in Moscow. Also in Dijon, Nîmes, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Grenoble, Montpellier, Albi, etc... He has had various medals and awards. Among others, the Gold Medal of the International Exhibition of 1937 in Paris, that of the city of Marseille in 1947. The Grand Prix of the French provinces in 1951, at the Menton Biennale. Seyssaud had been an officer of the Legion of Honor since 1947. Among the posthumous events, retrospectives at the Calvet Museum (1953), Cantini Museum (1954), Salon d'Automne, Château d'Arbon in Switzerland (1955), Galliera Museum. -His paintings are among the collections of Gustave Geffroy, Frantz Jourdain, Vollard, Georges Feydeau, Sacha Guitry, Armand Dayot, Lucien Poincaré, Maurice Sarraut, Albert Sarraut, Paulhan, Bernheim, Estaunié, Descaves, Morsolf, Fernand Bouisson, Drouant, André Marie, the Marquis de Biron, the Princess de la Tour d'Auvergne, de Wagram etc.