Albert Joseph (1868-1952) Houses In Eymoutiers, Autumn Salon. Crozant School, Gauguin

New oil on canvas by Albert Joseph depicting houses near Eymoutiers, signed lower left + old label from the Salon d'Automne on the reverse. Dimensions of the canvas alone, excluding the frame, 46 x 55 cm. I found almost the same work, of the same format, with only a slightly different framing, reproduced in the catalogue of the studio sale at Maître Galataud in 1986 (see last photo). This is a very post-Impressionist work with Fauvist tendencies by Albert Joseph, who here paints farms near Eymoutiers; we can at least glimpse Mont Larron, a tree-lined path, and therefore farm buildings. Albert Joseph employs his typical style of the period, with broad, flat areas of color and his very characteristic palette featuring his famous greens, mauves, pinks, browns, oranges, etc. A truly beautiful work that the artist chose to exhibit at the Salon d'Automne. Albert Joseph needs no introduction; he is an essential painter of the Creuse Valley, a painter of strong character, who associated with many great painters such as Guillaumin and Gauguin. He was very close to the latter but drifted apart just as quickly following a falling out; they even returned paintings they had exchanged some time earlier. Born in 1868 in Auteuil, Albert Joseph embarked on an artistic career after leaving high school, entering the Académie Julian in 1887. There he met Henri Matisse, Édouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, and Maurice Denis. Two years later, he undertook long journeys through England, Italy, and Algeria, where he lived with desert nomads in the company of his friend The painter René Juste began painting seriously at the age of 32, frequenting Barbizon and Brittany. He exhibited for the first time in 1901 at the Salon des Artistes Français before exhibiting at the Salon des Indépendants. In 1903, he sent his first painting, taken in the Creuse Valley, which was well received by critics. He then traveled to the Mediterranean coast, visiting Banyuls, Cassis, Avignon, and Collioure, a place then frequented by Léon Detroy. There, he particularly studied the effects of light on water. From 1920 onward, he spent his summers in the Limousin region, in Eymoutiers, Peyrat-le-Château, La Jonchère, and Crozant, where he met Eugène Alluaud and Paul Madeline. His time in the Creuse Valley influenced his painting, making it darker and more rigorous. He painted there until the end of his life after retiring to La Jonchère between 1939 and 1945. He died in 1952 after a solitary end to his career, abandoning all commercial activity and selling only to friends or museums. This canvas is in very good condition, on its original stretcher. Currently, I do not have a frame, or perhaps a sumptuous frame signed Bouche, but that would add €350. The artwork is guaranteed authentic.