“andalusian Festival”, Oil On Board, Jean-louis Paguenaud (1876-1952).

"Andalusian Festival," oil on canvas, Jean-Louis Paguenaud (1876-1952).
Signed and dedicated ("singer Dupré") in the lower right corner.
Jean Louis Paguenaud is the pseudonym of Jean-Philippe Paguenaud (1876-1952). He spent his childhood in Algiers, where he discovered the sea. When his father moved to Limoges, he studied at the School of Decorative Arts and worked in a porcelain factory. He perfected his skills with William Bouguereau, explored the world of marines, and undertook numerous trips to Martinique and North Africa, which he recorded in gouaches and drawings, which he exhibited in 1905 at the Salon des Indépendants. His brother Joseph Louis was killed in action in 1914, and to honor his memory, he decided to sign his works with the name of one of the deceased. Appointed official painter of the French Navy in 1922, he lived for a time in Paris before returning to Limoges. He took part in a famous voyage on the ship "Lamotte-Piquet", which took him to Central and South America. His career can be divided into three periods: his formative period (1876-1902), the "orientalist" period (1902-1921) and a third period (1921-1942), during which he became official painter of the Navy; he produced a few more works between 1942 and 1952. His work is present in important private collections and in museums such as the Musée de la Marine in Paris, the Naval School of Bourdeaux, the town hall of Coussac-Bonneval, etc. This work represents an exterior, a square of an Andalusian village, with a large number of figures dressed in the regional costume of the region celebrating a large festival. The movement is provided by couples and groups dancing in the center, an orchestra on the left, guests on the right, and several couples on horseback throughout the composition. This entire scene shares the spotlight with the landscape: the facade of a church stands in front of a house and an old bridge, with a mountain in the background under a blue sky. Several characteristics of Paguenaud's work can be clearly appreciated: the light, which he would have taken in Algiers and in all his travels; the mastery of composition with which he knows how to place a large number of characters; the blue sky, which is also found in his seascapes, etc. Likewise, the originality of oil painting in the painter's artistic career must be emphasized because of its subject matter. -
Dimensions: 233x5x175 int 213x152 cm