Fernand Salkin (1862-1937) Shed At Le Redon In The Suburbs Of Marseille

A certain freshness, light, a subtle and nervous touch in a generous and quite modern material for the time which gives life, and which make this pretty oil on cardboard by the painter Fernand Salkin, a beautiful, vibrant and full testimony charm from the time when a few lucky Marseille residents had this famous pied-à-terre called the shed where they went on Sundays to have meals with family, friends, or to cultivate their vegetable garden. Most of the time these sheds were located outside the city, on the outskirts in the countryside, by the sea or on the foothills of the hills as in this painting... The work in perfect condition is made in oil on strong cardboard, it is offered in a pretty carved frame with a pine cone motif which measures 48 cm by 63, and 38 cm by 53 cm for the painting alone. It represents a landscape animated by a character in front of sheds in the Redon district of Marseille, on the foothills of the current Calanques National Park. A pretty, bright and charming painting.

Fernand Salkin enters as a student at the School of Fine Arts in Nîmes. He then became involved in the administration of the Military Health Service, became a commander, and traveled all over France, but also in Algeria and Tonkin. In 1909, he left the health service and retired to Marseilles where he lived until his death. His first exhibition dates from 1903, in Tunis, where “Commander Salkin” exhibited his drawings and watercolors inspired by his travels. He then exhibited at the Salon of French Artists (Paris) of which he became a member in 1918, in Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon and Brussels. In 1911-1912, a retrospective of his work entitled “Au pays de Mistral” was produced. He is described as "a vibrant colorist and a painter who has a sense of movement and life" during his exhibition at Georges Petit. In July 1917, he was named an officer of the Legion of Honor; he engaged throughout the First World War as an administrative inspector of the military health service; he produced charcoal drawings bearing witness to the horror of the trenches. In March 1912, he was appointed official painter of the Navy. In May 1921, he was again confirmed as official painter of the Navy, a position he held until 1931. He exhibited in Algiers during the 1920s. He died in Marseilles on January 21, 1937. Works in the Marseille Public Collections , museum of fine arts: Gulf of Sanary or Les Pins de la Cride in Sanary (Var) (1922), oil on canvas, Brazzaville, former palace of the Governor: The Mending of the nets in Martigues (1922), oil on canvas