Louis-claude Paviot (1872 - 1943), Woodland Path

Oil on canvas. 27,5 x 40,5 cm. Signed lower left. 

Originally from Ain, Louis-Claude Paviot received his first training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon under Adolphe-Louis Castex-Desgranges. He exhibited as early as 1895 at the Lyon Salons, before moving to Paris where he studied with Henri Doucet and Jean-Paul Laurens. There, he became a friend of Renoir and moved in the circles of Bonnard, Signac, Matisse, and Dunoyer de Segonzac.
A discreet figure, Paviot devoted himself mainly to landscape painting. Working outdoors, he sought to capture the effects of light and the changing moods of the seasons. His works, relatively rare today, are admired for their sincerity and freshness, reflecting his intimate bond with nature. From 1896, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris, while maintaining close ties with the Lyon art scene during the first half of the 20th century. His paintings are preserved in several public collections, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Reims, and the Musée Paul-Dini in Villefranche-sur-Saône.
The present canvas offers a fine example of his talent: a luminous path winds through a flowering woodland, animated by a vibrant palette of greens, yellows, and violets. The vertical rhythm of the tree trunks structures the composition, while the lively, fragmented brushwork conveys both movement and vitality. Rather than a detailed description, Paviot sought to capture a fleeting impression, in the spirit of Impressionism.
This landscape, both decorative and deeply sensitive, reveals his poetic vision of the rural world.