Paris, Elegant On The Boulevard. Luigi Loir. Pencil 14 X 8 Cm

Luigi Loir was born in Gorritz, Austria, to French parents. His father and mother were in the service of the Bourbon family then exiled in Austria. In 1847, they settled in the Duchy of Parma, and Luigi entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1853. Ten years later, Luigi Loir arrived in Paris at his father's bedside. It was his first stay in the city that would inspire his paintings for the rest of his life. He entered the studio of the decorative painter Pastelot who became his first master. In 1865, Luigi Loir debuted at the Paris Salon with landscapes of Parma, views of Rome and Dieppe in gouache, most of them executed from memories and which were quite noted. During the first part of his career, Luigi Loir continued to do decorative painting, notably for the decorations of the Devil's Castles, in 1866. After the war of 1870, during which he distinguished himself in the battle of Le Bourget, Luigi Loir devoted himself almost exclusively to painting views of Paris, to which he owes the best of his reputation. A loyal exhibitor at the Salon des Artistes Français, Loir obtained a third class medal in 1879, a second class medal in 1886 and a gold medal in 1889 at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Luigi Loir was decorated with the Order of the Legion of Honour in 1898. In addition to his work as a painter, Luigi Loir should also be noted for his numerous illustrations for advertisements, notably for the LU house, but also for restaurant menus and catalogues. Loir was a member of the Société des Peintres-Lithographes and the Société des Aquarellistes. Luigi Loir was the painter of Paris par excellence, whose different aspects he was able to capture and interpret according to the time of day, thanks to his precious qualities of observation. Luigi Loir painted the Paris of the Parisians and became the painter of urban landscapes. Apart from his paintings in museums, we must mention: The Preparations for the Funfair, acquired for the hall of honor of the Paris City Council; The Scrap Metal Market, acquired by the city; The Rue de la Pitié, seen from the Val de Grâce, in the Salon des Sciences at the Hotel de Ville in Paris; A Corner of the Throne Festival, watercolor acquired by the Empress of Russia.