Claude Honoré Hugrel – The Barges (winter Evening) – Tempera And Pastel – Signed And Dated 1918

This luminous work by Honoré Hugrel poetically captures the enveloping atmosphere of a river port at dusk. Two masted barges rest peacefully along the bank, their dark hulls reflected in the calm waters of the river, likely the Saône, which the artist particularly loved.

The composition reveals Hugrel's mastery of twilight. The sky, ablaze with gold and orange hues, diffuses a warm glow that is magnificently mirrored on the water's surface, creating a luminous yellow-green path of great intensity. This luminous reverberation, painted with vivid and spontaneous brushstrokes, animates the entire scene and contrasts harmoniously with the dark masses of the boats and the riverbank.

Here, the artist demonstrates his talent for capturing these transitional moments as day fades. A few points of artificial light already pierce the nascent darkness on the left bank, suggesting a human presence. The light mist enveloping the background lends the scene a hazy, contemplative atmosphere, typical of Hugrel's post-impressionist approach.

The brushwork is energetic and sensitive, revealing a painter perfectly at ease with atmospheric effects and the interplay of reflections. The work is signed in the lower right corner and dated 1918. On the back, it is titled and bears the handwritten inscription "Private Exhibition Lyon 1918."
The work is in excellent condition. It is mounted under glass and placed in a wide, molded, black lacquered wooden frame, which is in very good condition.

The artist
Claude Honoré Hugrel was born on June 12, 1880, in Mâcon, into a modest family. He trained under Georges Duhain and developed his art within the post-impressionist movement. In 1908, he married Jeanne Granger and settled permanently in Mâcon, a city to which he remained devoted throughout his life.

A landscape and animal painter, Hugrel found his inspiration in his native Burgundy. Mastering oil, pastel, watercolor, and gouache, he particularly excelled in animal painting and rural scenes. He exhibited regularly at the Salon and in 1929 received the prestigious Rosa-Bonheur Prize, a testament to his talent. Alongside his artistic career, Hugrel became curator of the Ursuline Museum in Mâcon in 1928, where he worked to enrich and restore the collections.

Claude Honoré Hugrel died on February 13, 1944, in Mâcon, at the age of 63. His works, reflecting a deep attachment to rural life in Burgundy, are now held in collections including the Musée des Ursulines, which dedicated a retrospective exhibition to him in 2015.

Artwork on display at the gallery (07240).
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