André Prugent (1882-1965) Games At Barbabé? Trélissac Périgueux

André PRUGENT
(Périgueux 1882 - 1965)
Jeux à Barbabé ? - Trélissac
Oil on cardboard
H. 19 cm; W. 23.5 cm
Signed lower right

Provenance: Private collection, Périgueux

During his childhood in the capital of Périgord, André Prugent attended the city's drawing school, directed at the end of the 19th century by Jean-Louis Daniel. Quickly becoming his favorite student, this leader of the Périgueux school would not fail to direct him following his rapid progress, to the Salon des Artistes Français where he would exhibit for the first time at the age of 18. After the mobilization of 14-18, Prugent returned to his land where he was regularly accompanied on outings to paint on location, by Emile Chaumont, André Saigne, Gustave Chérifel, etc. This young generation generally met in the afternoon, while Prugent handed over the reins of the family shop to his wife. This store was none other than the supply point for painters in the region since they could find the colors, canvases and other supports necessary for the arts there. The windows of this place located on rue de la Clarté in Périgueux were also the permanent exhibition place for the painter's latest works. Fond of the nearby regions of the Isle valley, the names of Chancelade, Champcevinel, Bassillac come up many times in the painter's compositions. The very simple supports that André Prugent used often marked the touch of this artist that some compared to Cézanne during his lifetime. Thick canvas frames, flexible cardboard, added to a broad and sometimes very thick touch gave a lively character to his works. In 1929, he was received as a member of the Artistes Français and continued to exhibit at the Salon until the dawn of the Second World War. However, he continued to exhibit in various French cities and saw his local work crowned by a retrospective exhibition at the Palais des Fêtes in Périgueux, where oils, pastels, watercolors and woodcuts rubbed shoulders, in this year 1965, the eve of his death. We noticed several works signed and dated in English. This fact is now unexplained, and invites you to contact us, if you have any information that could help us. This small painting painted on cardboard is a reminder of the atmosphere of the interwar years in Périgueux. The water games on the banks of the Isle are represented here by this small scene. Is it to be located in Barnabé or on the other bank? Should we look further along the river?