Paris, Bateau Lavoir Near The Clock Tower By Iwoa Haguinoya, Oil On Canvas Circa 1930

Iwoa Haguinoya (1881-1979)
Paris, the Clock Tower, washhouse boat and steam barge upstream from the Pont au Change.
Original oil on canvas
Signed lower right "Haguinoya".
Ca. 1930.
Dimensions: 33 x 46 cm (visible), 40 x 54 cm (with frame).
With frame.

Iwoa Haguinoya (1881-1979)
Following the model of the artists of the Paris School, such as Léonard Foujita, Haguinoya left his native Japan to settle in Paris, and benefit from the intellectual ferment that characterized, in this first half of the 20th century, the world capital of art. There, Haguinoya specialized in picturesque views of the banks of the Seine.

Paris, the Clock Tower of the Palais de la Cité and the Pont au Change
Here, we recognize the Clock Tower of the Palais de la Cité, on the left, and the Pont au Change, in the distance. In the foreground, the banks of the Seine, animated by a steam barge and a wash boat, welcome a few onlookers. The characters are sketched with a sure gesture. Haguinoya uses a free and fiery touch, heir to the avant-gardes. He adopts an innovative angle of view, with a perspective emphasized by means of the sharp diagonals that draw the banks of the Seine on either side of the composition. The effect thus obtained is reminiscent of the plunging perspectives of Albert Marquet, for whom Paris was one of his favorite subjects. The palette is composed of muted tones, with its gradations of brown, gray and white. The line is pure and simplified. With astonishing economy of means, the artist delivers a moving representation of the Paris of yesteryear.