Pierre Eugene Montezin (1874 – 1946) “landscape With Birch Trees” Oil On Canvas 32x44.5 Cm

Pierre Eugene MONTEZIN (1874 Paris – 1946 Moëlan-sur-Mer) “Landscape with Birch Trees” Oil on canvas signed lower right H: 32 cm x W: 44.5 cm Pierre Eugène Montezin (1874-1946) is a French post-impressionist painter, influenced by Claude Monet. He is known for his bucolic landscapes and rural scenes, marked by an impressionist touch and a luminous palette. He enjoys international renown and his works are regularly presented in major public sales of impressionist art at Sotheby's and Christie's in New York, London and Paris. Biography: Montézin was born into a wealthy family. His father was a lace designer and created his designs, which were successful at a time when the lace trade was flourishing. He loved fishing and this often took him far from Paris. All his free time was devoted to hiking, which was often true rural expeditions. When Pierre Eugène was in primary school, his father apprenticed him in a decorating firm. At 17, he worked decorating panels with flowers and original ornaments. He also painted in oils and eventually left decorating to become solely a painter, particularly a landscape painter. In 1893, Montézin was determined to be accepted into the Salon des Artistes Français. He began a ten-year period during which he regularly sent canvases, all of which were rejected. He then spent a brief time at the Bernard-Palissy school. During these ten years, he painted Paris and its surroundings tirelessly, and the Salon des Artistes Français finally accepted him into its circle. In 1914, although exempt from military service, he enlisted and fought on the front lines. He received the Military Medal after the battles in the Meuse. He returned and settled in Paris in 1919. He was then married and living with his family. He moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine with his wife and daughter in 1924 and divided his time between working in the studio and spending time in Veneux-les-Sablons, where he owned a house that he decorated with frescoes. In 1933, he was unanimously elected president of the jury of the Salon des Artistes Français. At the ceremony of his inauguration, 237 paintings were exhibited. He exhibited in 1936 at the Galerie du Journal, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, in 1938 at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, Avenue de Friedland, and in 1943 at the Galerie Raphaël Gérard. He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1941, to seat number 1, replacing Édouard Vuillard, who died in 1940. He died at the age of 71, on July 10, 1946, during a working trip to Brittany.