Maximilien Luce (1858 – 1941) – “landscape”

Maximilien LUCE (1858 – 1941) – “Landscape” Circa 1922 Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard Signed lower left Dimensions; 54 x 40 cm without frame 72 x 57 cm with frame Provenance: - Private collection Monaco - Sotheby's sale “Impressionist and modern art” London February 6, 2007 Bibliography: Maximilien Luce, known for being one of the most famous representatives of neo-impressionism, was born in Paris in 1858. An engraver by training and then by profession, he devoted himself to painting, after having taken various drawing courses – notably at the Arts décoratifs – and the teaching of Carolus-Duran. In 1884, the first Salon des Indépendants allowed him to confront the emerging neo-impressionism, with Georges Seurat at the forefront. This application of colour in juxtaposed touches on the canvas, inherited from the lessons and theories of Goethe and Charles Henry, conquered Luce's sensitivity. The optical mixture of tones relayed that which painters had operated until then on the palette, which allowed an unprecedented luminosity to emerge from the compositions. He met members of this movement such as Signac and Pissarro in 1887, after having appropriated the divisionist technique.