Jean Lefort (1875-1954) Social Scene. Paris, Bordeaux, Limousin, War 14-18, Mucha Steinlen

SUPERB oil on paper by Jean Lefort representing a lively social scene, circa 1900/1910, signed lower right. Size of the painting alone without frame 33x41cm and 41x48cm including frame. This is therefore a magnificent impressionist composition by Jean Lefort which represents a social scene animated by numerous characters, a mature couple in the foreground, then a young woman and two children then two elegant women in vanishing point. Faithful to his technique Lefort fixes his motif thanks to a most skillful and precise drawing which he then sculpts in a rich paste and especially thanks to a most subtle palette, rich in colors where the ochres, violets, greens, yellows, reds etc ... are enhanced by black and white. This typical work of the artist flirts between Art Nouveau and Symbolism, a real success. A powerful work that has nothing to envy from the masters of the genre such as Mucha, Cheret, Steinlen, Hermann, Galien-Laloue, Point, Levy-Dhurmer etc....Jean Lefort is a painter, watercolorist and illustrator. First trained in Bordeaux where he was born, he was later admitted to the Beaux-Arts in Paris. His inspiration led him towards urban scenes, sometimes with many characters, in often dynamic compositions. He exhibited in 1905 and 1906 at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne. Before the war, his works were noticed but his reputation remained modest. In 1914, he was also an illustrator, notably in the magazine Fantasio. He would finally be one of the richest illustrators of the Great War 1914-18. After a first assignment in a territorial unit, he was attached in November to a front-line regiment, the 237th infantry regiment with which he went to Artois. This region, in the spring of 1915, would be the scene of an important battle which would engage British and French troops against the Germans. A source consulted tells us that Lefort was then a stretcher-bearer, which seems to be confirmed by the large number of drawings and watercolors from this period taking as motifs the aid stations, the infirmaries, the wounded soldiers and the killed. So Lefrot is especially recognized for his war sketches, his genre scenes, most of the time made between Paris and Bordeaux. But he will also be a landscaper and will visit many regions of France, he will notably make a stop in Limousin where he will create magnificent scenes, like this July 14, 1903 in Eymoutiers, a superb painting that I offered several years ago. This oil on paper is in its original state and in its period frame with black patina; I bought it protected by glass that I removed, but I can put it back at the buyer's request. Work guaranteed authentic