Madeleine Bru-zizard (1885-1959) Périgueux Cathedral Seen From Rue De La Nation

Marie-Madeleine BRU-ZIZARD
(1885 - 1959)
Périgueux – Saint-Front Cathedral seen from Rue de la Nation
Oil on canvas
H. 22 cm; W. 15.5 cm
Signed lower right

Provenance : Private collection, Périgueux

Marie-Madeleine Bru-Zizard appears only very rarely in the records of local art history. Her name appears at the Périgord Museum of Art and Archaeology (Périgueux) with a very spirited portrait of the painter Robert Dessales-Quentin. She also exhibited at the Salon de l'Atelier in Bordeaux in 1959, the year of her death, where she presented two street scenes of Bordeaux. A resident of Périgueux, this woman, who is one of the few artists referenced today alongside Élisabeth Dujarric de la Rivière, left no trace in the department. Could the name "Bru-Zizard" be an artist's name ? This surname seems completely unknown in Périgord, as elsewhere, suggesting a certain desire for discretion surrounded the individual. From a technical standpoint, the works known today allow us to compare this painter's work to the paintings of René Laforest, her contemporary from Périgord, or even Dessales-Quentin in his oil compositions.

Our small canvas is a new record of the alleyways of old Périgueux during the first half of the 20th century. This unchanged viewpoint, taken from the alley called "Rue de la Nation" north of the cathedral, opens onto the side square of the building. Here, our local "Sacré-Cœur" is bathed in the light of early afternoon.