David Eugène Girin (1848-1917), Quayside Scene

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. 33 × 25 cm.

A Lyon-born painter trained at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, David Girin belongs to the generation of artists who, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, renewed plein-air painting through a subtle observation of atmospheric effects. A friend of François Vernay and close to the Lyonnais impressionist circle, he exhibited regularly at the Salon de Lyon and developed a body of work attentive to urban landscapes and scenes of everyday life along the banks of the Saône and the Rhône.

In this intimate composition, Girin captures a group of figures seated by a riverside quay, bathed in the fading light of evening. The silhouettes, barely sketched, merge within a fluid impasto dominated by browns and pearly greys, accented with green and bluish reflections. The background, suffused with the golden clarity of the sky, reveals an outline of architecture in backlight and the tranquil presence of the river. The supple, vibrant handling conveys the spontaneity of a study painted from life, each touch preserving the fleeting sensation of the declining light.

Through the restraint of his palette and the fusion between figures and landscape, this work reflects Girin’s taste for quiet atmospheres and suspended moments.