Julien Feron (1864-1944): The Bay Of Saint Tropez Seen From The Heights Of Gassin

Julien FERON (1864-1944)The Bay of Saint Tropez seen from the heights of Gassin, 1932Oil on canvasDimensions: 65 x 100 cmDimensions with frame: 87 x 122 cmSigned and dated 1932 lower rightProvenance:- Family of the artist- Galerie Tuffier, Les Andelys, Julien Féron exhibition, 2002Reproduced in the book: Julien FERON, Galerie Tuffier, 2002, page 15.Painting in very good condition. Relined Sold with invoice and certificate of authenticityPossibility of shipping in France or abroadA Norman by birth, Julien Féron was born in 1864 in Saint-Jean du Cardonnay, in Seine-Maritime. From a bourgeois family, he studied engineering and married at the age of 23 a 16-year-old girl whose parents were Alsatian refugees. As was traditional in wealthy families, the father established his son. He bought him a business in Houlme. Julien Féron, who had no business acumen, paradoxically became the largest alcohol warehouseman in the entire Cailly Valley, covering 150 kilometers, making the best of a bad situation and accepting this situation which suited him very well. In 1898, at the age of 34, the day after the birth of his sixth child, Julien Féron began painting as an autodidact with this absolutely overwhelming desire to transcribe colors, a dominant feature of Julien Féron's work. He now went alone into the countryside with his easel, brushes and palette. Around 1902-1903, he took the plunge. On his property in Houlme, he had a very spacious studio built, collecting everything related to painting. He spent his time traveling to Paris and Rouen to exhibitions. By chance, during one of his Parisian excursions, he had the chance to meet the actor Dorival, a member of the Français and a great collector. Curious by nature, Dorival came to Houlme. Struck by Féron's painting, he mentioned it to Armand Guillaumin. Through him, the two men met in 1904. It was the beginning of a great friendship, mixed with respect, and for Féron a new awareness, a new fulfillment. The meeting with Guillaumin was fundamental in the painter's career. In this village of Gassin, Féron was the first foreigner to come and live. He stayed there for two months out of eight years and the painter reached his full potential. This period in the South was absolutely decisive. His passion for painting would only die with him, on February 6, 1944.