Antonin Ponchon (1891-1965), Place Des Jacobins (lyon)

Oil on canvas. 55 x 46 cm. Signed lower left.

Antonin Ponchon’s Place des Jacobins (Lyon) offers a poetic and atmospheric view of one of the city’s most iconic squares. A painter from early 20th-century Lyon, Ponchon centers his composition around the famous Jacobins Fountain, erected in 1885 and adorned with statues of notable Lyonnais figures. The artist captures the urban ambiance, enveloping the buildings and fountain in a veil of diffused, almost misty light.

The palette, dominated by soft tones and pastel hues, reflects the luminous haze typical of Lyon—a quality often attributed to Ponchon by contemporary critics. Contours are deliberately blurred, and forms are simplified, imparting a sense of calm and restraint that characterizes Ponchon’s style and reveals the post-Impressionist influence of Cézanne and the Ziniars group, of which he was a member. The figures, reduced to simple silhouettes, emphasize the monumentality of the fountain and surrounding architecture while subtly animating the scene.

Ponchon favors perspective and depth, opening the square with an urban vista that draws the viewer’s gaze into the background, enhancing the sense of space. This compositional choice reflects the artist’s interest in expansive views and architecture, yet avoids academic rigidity through a free and spontaneous touch. The work thus embodies the modernity of early 20th-century Lyon—balancing tradition and innovation—and demonstrates Ponchon’s ability to capture the soul of a city through light, color, and composition.

Antonin Ponchon studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon between 1906 and 1910. A member of the Ziniars movement, he devoted himself to painting still lifes and landscapes of the Lyon region. At the same time, he taught at the Petit-Collège and served on the jury of the Paris-Lyon group.

He founded the Galerie des Archers, which hosted some of the greatest names in French painting, such as Pierre Bonnard, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Paul Signac, Maurice Utrillo, Suzanne Valadon, and Maurice de Vlaminck. The gallery closed its doors in 1933, the same year Ponchon moved to Paris, where he became a fashion magazine publisher while continuing his work as a painter, notably through landscapes of the Île-de-France region.
Until 1923, he exhibited regularly at the Salon d’Automne in Lyon and the Salon du Sud-Est, which he co-founded and served as vice-president. His paintings are now held in the collections of the Paul-Dini Museum in Villefranche-sur-Saône and the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.