Marcel Fournier (1900-1979) Périgueux - Rue De La Selle Dordogne

Marcel FOURNIER
(Périgueux 1900 – Trélissac 1979)
Périgueux – La rue de la Selle
Oil on isorel
H. 45.5 cm; W. 31.5 cm
Signed lower right. Signed, dated and located on the back. 1974

A schoolteacher in Chancelade from 1923 to 1960, Marcel Fournier, before becoming a painter, was a great enthusiast of the Périgord. Passionate about its history, its landscapes and very much about its language, of which he would be an immense protector throughout his life, as was another painter before him: Jean-Louis Daniel. Félibre from 1917, he was elected majoral in 1942 and president of Bournat from 1945 to 1975. This charismatic figure of Occitan in Périgord highlighted the culture of the department through numerous events and publications. Singer, writer, poet, painter, actor, Majoral Fournier left his mark on Occitan culture in all its paintings.

This view of the bowels of Périgueux is taken from the short rue de la Selle, which forms an almost right angle in its upper part. On the right, it intersects rue de l'Étrier, and heads towards rue Taillefer. We are in the heart of the Mataguerre district, rarely taken as a model by painters, and here magnified by Fournier on a late summer morning. Full of color as usual, Fournier works in thick strokes and quickly. His work can be compared with that of his contemporary Marcel Renaud, and also comes close to that of Emile Chaumont who died in 1927. This closed point of view, with bright colors bathed in strong light, are all elements that lead us to believe that the painter breathes his Occitan vitality into his works!