Georges Burger (1902-1983) Rue Du Basilic In Périgueux Dordogne

Georges BURGER
(1902 - 1983)
Rue du Basilic in Périgueux
Oil on canvas
H. 34.5 cm; L. 27 cm
Signed G. Burger lower right, and dated 45

Provenance: Sold by the artist at the time of the creation of the work; Private collection, Périgueux.

Like many Alsatians, Georges Burger came to spend the hard years of the Second World War in Périgueux. Trained by Charles Weiss in Strasbourg, whose light and airy touch can be found in his work, throughout his career he will produce still lifes and landscapes of Alsace. His life and his work remain unknown today, particularly in the Dordogne where he nevertheless spent at least six years of his life, from 1939 to 1945.

The rue du Basilic is no longer. In Périgueux, it was part of a group called "The new streets", located below the Saint Front cathedral and running up to the boulevard along the Isle. Unfortunately destroyed around 1960, this whole district that the municipality considered unsanitary and tamed by the local underworld, has given way to a parking lot and a few modern buildings ... These old streets with the medieval look of houses tightly packed together and the pavement of pebbles from the Isle have disappeared forever.

In addition to being a piece of memory, this painting by Georges Burger made during his last year in the Dordogne, it is also a piece of real charm. The painter uses shades of pink, pale green, light blue, purple and gray. These colors are not commonly used but we find them again at the end of the war, as a sign of hope and lightness. Another painting representing the same district in 1945 was made with similar colors.