Market Scene, Watercolor By Octave Lafay, 1908

Louis-Octave Lafay was an artist from Roanne who studied under Léon Mignen and Emile Noirot. He was also a drawing teacher in Roanne. He held his first exhibition in 1904, then participated with Emile Noirot in the Salon des Artistes Français at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1906. His painted works are close to those of Noirot in their style and technique. Over time, he abandoned painting to devote himself mainly to watercolor. This technique seems to better suit his temperament and aspirations. While Noirot's influence is evident in his oil paintings, the artist seems to assert his personality and independence through watercolor with constant plastic research and a concern for originality. Octave Lafay is among the regional artists who painted their personal joys. The watercolor is signed lower left: O Lafay 08, it perhaps represents a market scene in Puy en Velay, Place du Plot.