Port Scene By Eugène Galien-laloue (french, 1854 - 1941)

Colorfully impressionistic scene of the Mediterranean coast by the famous French painter Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854 - 1941).

Literature: Dictionaries of artists by Bénézit (in French) and Thieme/Becker (in German).
Inscription: Signature of the artist's proven pseudonym, M. LENOIR, lower left.
Technique: Oil on canvas. Original French frame.
Dimensions: unframed: l 55 x h 46.5 cm; framed: l 78 x h 68.5 cm.
Condition: Very good condition.

Here is the artist's biography, taken from the website www.rehs.com: "Some artists or writers are content with a pseudonym to conceal their work. Eugène Galien Laloue was particularly adept at forging multiple identities, working under three pseudonyms over the course of his career: Lenoir; J. Liévin, after a soldier he met during the Franco-Prussian War; E. Galiany, an Italianized version of his own name; and L. Dupuy, after Dupuy Léon, who lived in the same area. While all three names are confirmed, he may have used others. Even his name Galien is questionable, as he occasionally spelled it with an "I," and on his birth certificate, it is spelled "Gallien." Why the artist tried so hard to confuse the public and historians remains an open question. Despite his attachment to the solitary nature of this man, he depicted Paris and its environs with remarkable coldness. He thus became a privileged witness to Parisian working-class life. He combined his interest in Parisian architecture with several landscape views and was an equally, if not more, competent draftsman.