Arnaud Marcel (1877-1956) "panorama Of The City Of Aix En Provence" Marseille Cézanne Ravaisou

ARNAUD Marcel (1877-1956)

"Panorama of the city of Aix en Provence"

Oil on panel,
Signed lower right,
Around 1914/1916

Beautiful work by the Aix painter Marcel Arnaud which represents a partial panorama of the city of Aix en Provence most certainly taken from the studio of the painter Paul Cézanne which he rented from 1914.
Our work from the beginning of the painter's Aix period, offers us a rare view of the urban landscape of the city of Aix en Provence in particular with the bell tower of the Saint-Sauveur cathedral. Indeed, the artist rarely immortalizes "the city of fountains" to paint the nearby countryside, with an infinite choice of motifs.

Our painting is not without recalling the works of the Aix painter Joseph Ravaisou. Only a few autumn landscapes by the painter Marcel Arnaud evoke the colors of his fiery companion whose paintings are compared to "confetti battles".

The painter Joseph Ravaisou from Aix was one of the privileged few to accompany Cézanne on location. He had a decisive influence on Marcel Arnaud. It was therefore mainly through the painter Ravaisou that Marcel Arnaud learned to love Cézanne and to understand his innovative contribution. We find his influence in his still lifes with fruit.

A student of Louis Maistre at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Marseille and an apprentice decorator at Apy & Parton, he went to Paris at the age of 18. He then worked at Capezat and Thibé, made theater sets for Jusseaume while studying the old masters at the Louvre. He met the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle in particular. Nostalgic for his hometown, he returned to Marseille where he married in 1904. He met the painter Paul Cézanne in Saint-Henri and painted several works there in his presence. He exhibited in regional salons and belonged to the group founded by Valère Bernard "Le Cénacle".

In 1914, he was appointed professor at the Aix-en-Provence School of Fine Arts and then director from 1917 to 1946. At the same time, he was assistant curator of the city's Musée Granet in 1922 and then curator from 1926 to 1947.
At the same time, Marcel Arnaud refused to give up all of his own already painted works to the famous art dealer Ambroise Vollard who had asked him for them by mutual agreement. His friend John Rewald supported him on this point, he wrote: "Marcel Arnaud brings to painting the Cézanneian continuity that time has not left to Paul Cézanne". The numerous exchanges of letters between Paul Cézanne and Marcel Arnaud are also in the hands of John Rewald.

These activities did not prevent him from painting or exhibiting in galleries in Marseille or Aix en Provence.
His last personal exhibition took place in 1955, three months before his death. He was made a knight of the Legion of Honor.

Dimensions: 31 x 68 cm without frame and 41.5 x 78.5 cm with its gilded wooden frame.

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