Jean-daniel Ribeyrol (1918-2005) Farm In Meyrals

Jean-Daniel RIBEYROL
(Périgueux 1918 – Razac sur l'Isle 2005)
Farm in Meyrals
Oil on panel
H. 37.5 cm ; W. 46 cm
Signed lower left

Provenance: Private collection, Périgueux

Born in Périgueux at the end of the Great War, Ribeyrol grew up on the family lands of Razac sur l'Isle which he left for his profession as a railwayman. During his youth he learned the basics of the Arts on the benches of the School of Drawing alongside Pierre-Robert Lucas, future Prix de Rome in 1937, and Jean Cluseau-Lanauve. These lovers of Périgord learned under the guidance of two well-known artists: Robert Dessales-Quentin and Julien Saraben. Ribeyrol initially worked in Grenoble, where he participated in numerous local exhibitions in the entourage of the city's Société des Beaux-Arts. His passion for drawing and painting forced him to practice almost daily within this circle to develop his art with greater rigor. He won prizes in Grenoble and Lyon, a city he returned to in 1968 and where he did not fail to join the Société des Beaux-Arts… During all these years of expatriation, Jean-Daniel Ribeyrol created constantly, mostly landscapes of neighboring Provence, but of course of the foothills of the Alps or Auvergne. A few still lifes punctuate the colored landscapes that he likes to exhibit. In 1974, the painter retired and was able to devote himself full time to his passion in front of the landscapes of Périgord. Shortly after, he created within the Société des Beaux-Arts du Périgord, "l'Atelier" which still exists today, being a place of meeting and weekly practice. From 1986 to 1990, he presided over the Society, which he very seriously expanded. In 1988, a major exhibition of his work was organized in Périgueux, and another in 2015 in Razac sur l'Isle.

During his years of retirement in Périgord, Ribeyrol ventured very regularly to the edges of the Vézère between Saint Léon and Le Bugue, more particularly in the communes of Peyzac Le Moustier and Plazac, but also on the heights overlooking the two valleys, towards Meyrals. Our work concerns a farm in this artists' village, created during the 1990s. As usual, the composition is structured by placing light in the center, here materialized by the whitewashed facades of the houses, and the darker edges of the work. The sky remains full of sun in order to preserve the depth that this landscape deserves.