Marcel Belle (1871-1948) Wreck In Bayonne, Basque Country. Marquet, Floutier, Crozant Elizaga Fauve

The first of four works by Marcel Gaston BELLE, this one depicts a seascape, titled on the back "Wreck at Bayonne," signed lower right + titled on the back + annotations... posthumous exhibition of 1949. The painting measures 33x41cm. This is therefore an early work representing a very interesting Basque subject, a wreck on the Bayonne breakwater; we see the breakwater in rough seas, the wreck, and a figure. An interesting subject for its historical aspect, as it is quite rarely painted, even though we know of several photographs of the most famous shipwrecks in this same notoriously dangerous location, paintings are much rarer. Belle naturally employs his usual powerful touch, with broad, flat areas of color in the manner of the Fauves, and here a simple and very subtle palette. As is often the case, he also likes to play with the support by leaving skillful areas untouched. Marcel Belle belongs, among others, to two famous French schools, the Crozant school and the Basque school. Indeed, he was among the best Basque representatives alongside Floutier, Colin, Labrouche, Masson, and Elizaga, who also painted in a similar style. However, Belle's Basque works are quite rare on the market, hence their very high value. As proof, this work, "Tugboats at Socoa," 60x73cm, was sold at auction in Paris in December 2013 for €2,600, or nearly €3,300. And so he was also part of the Crozant school. Marcel Gaston Belle (1871-1948) was descended from a line of French artists that notably included Alexis-Simon Belle (1674-1734). In Paris, he began his painting studies at the Grande Chaumière, forming a friendship with Henri Martin, whose student he also became. It was therefore quite natural that his first canvases were pointillist in style—a very beautiful pointillism, sometimes animated. These canvases are extremely rare on the market, but some were sold at the auction of his studio at Drouot. The artist's record is a Divisionist canvas measuring 160 x 190 cm, which sold for over €166,000 in 2000 at Sotheby's in New York. Later he came to the Creuse valley, hence his inclusion in the Crozant school, which he always painted with his dotted touch, but little by little he abandoned it under the influence of Albert Marquet for his definitive touch, therefore by large flat areas in the manner of the Fauves. He regularly returned to paint in the Creuse Valley, but he also frequently painted in the Basque Country, as well as in Provence, Brittany, the South of France, Paris, Alsace, the Alps, and elsewhere. He submitted works to the Salon d'Automne in 1920, then to the Salon National des Beaux-Arts between 1921 and 1945, to the Salon des Indépendants between 1926 and 1939, and finally had a solo exhibition at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in 1937. His works are now very rare and highly prized by collectors, especially those depicting the Creuse Valley and the Basque Country, but only a few. Proof of this is the canvas recently sold in 2022 in Melun for €5,600 at auction, which depicted a riverbank, probably the Seine. This oil on cardboard is in very good condition and is currently sold unframed. The work is guaranteed authentic.