Elisée Maclet (1881-1962) Pair Of Paintings: Arles And Avignon

Pair of Art Deco paintings circa 1925 oil paintings on panel signed MACLET (Elisée Maclet 1881-1962) subjects titled ARLES (Antique Theater) and AVIGNON (castle of the popes) respectively These paintings are pleasantly animated by fresh and poetic colors punctuated by the ocher, blue and pink. Good general condition, they each measure 36 cm X 28 cm. Elisée MACLET was born July 12, 1881 From an early age he was passionate about art and sought inspiration on the banks of the Somme. In 1906 Maclet left his native Picardy for the first time to join Paris and discovered the Butte Montmartre where he lived. He began as a decorator at the Moulin Rouge, in his early days he painted the typical landscapes of Montmartre, "Lapin Agile, Moulin de la Galette, Maison de Mimi Pinson etc." Maclet paints watercolors, then brushes before painting with a knife. He paints the streets of Montmartre with precision, his paintings are quickly interested in art dealers. At the Lapin Agile, a cabaret on the Butte Montmartre, he will frequent Maurice Utrillo, Max Jacob, Pablo Picasso, and Guillaume Apollinaire. The painter's Parisian works are as interesting as they are colorful, he paints the old streets of Montmartre, his style asserts itself and his success is rapid, he sells his paintings. He then had many customers and art dealers in Paris did not hesitate to hang his works alongside those of famous contemporaries. Maclet is then presented as the new Utrillo. He meets Degas. Writers such as Colette, Francis Carco, many other personalities and an American merchant are interested in him. He frequents Max Jacob who wrote about him: "Maclet is an artist who enjoys being taken for a small peasant from the North". In 1923, Baron Von Frey, a wealthy Austrian industrialist, took Maclet under contract. His patron sends him to stay in the South of France to meet its colors, its landscapes and its light. Maclet's paintings are then adorned with the density and brilliance of the south, he will stay there from 1924 to 1928 and will bring back landscapes whose wonder in front of the Mediterranean nature that he translated, sometimes evoked the name of Matisse. . At the end of 1928, he was in Corsica. In 1929-30, he was in Brittany. In the midst of the economic crisis, a difficult period began, then he returned to Montmartre and was close to Lucien Genin. From 1935, the painter painted Paris again. He paints his streets with precision, the canvases of this period are pleasant, with fresh and poetic colors.