René Seyssaud (1867-1952) Herd On The Foothills Of Ventoux - Vaucluse

The rolling landscapes of the surroundings of Mont Ventoux, one of the favorite themes of the great René Seyssaud. A succession of colors skillfully chosen and orchestrated give perspective and depth to this refined, effective and modern work. Produced using the technique of distemper on cardboard that the artist loved and mastered perfectly, and which requires great speed of execution. Drying very quickly, it allowed the painter to work on the motif and capture the present moment. The distemper paintings are among Seyssaud's most modern works, and very often at the very beginning of the 20th century, between 1898 and 1915. The work in good condition, is offered in a simple, gilded frame, which measures 45.5 cm by 62.5 cm and 32 cm by 48 cm for the cardboard panel mounted on a frame. It represents a rolling landscape where we see a herd in the distance in the tranquility of the wide open spaces. The work is signed at the bottom right.

A precursor of Fauvism, a member of the New School of Avignon, in 1892, Seyssaud sent a copy to the Indépendants and to the Champs de Mars. He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne from its foundation, at the Parc de Bouteville in 1897, and in 1899, at Vollard. He achieved all the success he had hoped for. His art provoked the strongest reactions in the press. Because, as a critic of the time wrote, he brought "An entirely new note". These are, says another, speaking of his paintings, spontaneous things that owe nothing to anyone and consequently should be appreciated by those who love the courage, the energetic candor of a man who has had no master and does not want to have a patron". Vollard offers Seyssaud a contract, but the latter refuses out of loyalty to his friend and Marseilles dealer François Honnorat. In 1901, he exhibited every year at Bernheim Jeune. The latter, like Vollard, offered to take charge of his interests. Seyssaud still preferred to reject this association, however rich it might be in consequences. -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. -In 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), Colonial Exhibition of Marseille (1922), International of Paris (1937), Prefecture of Marseille (1949), Biennale of Menton (1951), Cantini Museum (1954), Zurich (1955), Galliera Museum (1956), Oxford, London, Edinburgh (1957), Aix-en-Provence, Festival (1957). -He had purchases from the State 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). -He is represented at the Petit Palais, the Museum of Modern Art, the Léon Dierx Museum (Ille de la Réunion), 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 1937 International Exhibition in Paris, that of the city of Marseille in 1947. The Grand Prix of the French provinces in 1951, at the Biennale of Menton. 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 of La Tour d'Auvergne, de Wagram etc.