Maurice Asselin (1882-1947) L'église Saint Paul, Orléans Huile Sur Toile, Signée

Maurice Asselin (1882-1947)
View of a village with churches
Signed lower right
Oil on canvas
38 x 46 cm
In good condition
In its original frame : 56 x 64 cm

The subject of this painting has recently been identified thanks to a collector. A dating of 1942 can also be advanced on the basis of comparisons with other works.
It is the church of Saint Paul in Orléans, which had just been bombed in 1940 by the German Nazi troops. We can identify the ruins in the foreground.
All that remains today of this church is the bell tower, which was also painted by Camille Corot.
We recognize the art of Maurice Asselin who, in the heart of the tragedy of war and ruins, delivers a pictorial interpretation of this difficult subject, all in softness and sensitivity by a beautiful agreement of pastel tones, only raised by the red touch of the chimneys in the second plan.

Maurice Asselin was a painter and engraver, member of the "Ecole de Paris" . For the famous Art Historian, Bernard Dorival , Maurice Asselin was - with André Dunoyer de Segonzac , Charles Dufresne , Paul-Elie Gernez and Henry de Waroquier - among the painters of the "realistic reaction" which, to "idealism and photographic realism " of the academic tradition of the 19th century, " prefer the frank realism of the Impressionists and the sincerity with which they questioned the nature. Against the unrealism of cubists, they pose as heirs of the independent masters of the third quarter of 19th century. And Bernard Dorival strongly supports his statement by quoting our artist: "If you really like painting, you will not only ask it to be a decoration for the walls of your home, but first of all to be a food for your life interior ", thus professes Maurice Asselin who continues:" no brain combination, no theory can give birth to a work of art ... Art springs from the marveled love of life "