Louis Cabié (1853-1939) Oak In Eymoutiers Haute Vienne

Louis-Alexandre CABIÉ
(Dol-de-Bretagne 1853 - Bordeaux 1939)
Oak in Eymoutiers
Gouache on paper
H. 35 cm; L. 25 cm
Signed lower left, dated 1912

Provenance:
- Offered by the painter to his niece, Andrée Maury, for her 1st communion. Dedication at the bottom right of the work.
- Inherited in 1983 by the writer Madeleine Chapsal, daughter of the second husband of Andrée Maury.
- Estate of Madeleine Chapsal.

Louis Cabié, renowned artist in France and particularly in the Bordeaux region, even during his lifetime, traveled in the great southwest throughout his life. Pupil of Harpignies whose passion for vegetation is found in the style of the Barbizon school, he will transcribe until his death the simplicity of the picturesque French landscapes. Spectacular trees, forest atmospheres, places steeped in history, bewitching valleys, or even a landscape in its simplest form that it will know how to raise with a vital contrast.

The heights of Eymoutiers in Haute-Vienne are regularly represented by Cabié, with landscapes of hilly heather, and often a small path lined with oak trees. Our gouache is part of this series that we see from 1912 to 1921.

It was therefore in 1912, certainly during his first visits to Eymoutiers that the painter produced this sheet which he offered as a first communion gift to his young niece Andrée Maury, who will keep it all her life. On her death in 1983, Andrée Maury bequeathed this gouache to the daughter of second husband Robert Chapsal, the famous writer Madeleine Chapsal. She herself will keep it until 2019 when she decides to sell all of her collections.