Victor Charreton (1864-1936) Solitude Under The Snow At Murols, Auvergne. Boudal, Perouse, Zingg

A new work by Victor Charreton, this time a large oil on cardboard depicting a figure in the snow at Murols, signed lower left, with annotations on the reverse. Mr. Laurent Chatin has confirmed the authenticity of this work, listed in the catalogue raisonné, Volume I, La Sauvetat, 1995, under number 813 by Robert and Bertrand Chatin. The painting measures 46 x 70 cm without the frame and 65 x 88 cm with the frame. The painting is in perfect condition and comes in an antique Montparnasse frame. Its authenticity is guaranteed. This is a superb new post-Impressionist work by Victor Charreton, who here paints his favorite subject, undoubtedly the one in which he excelled: snow at Murols in the Auvergne region. We see a solitary figure walking on a snowy path lined with telephone poles, a wayside cross on the hilltop, and a few bare bushes and trees. As is his custom, Charreton delivers a work full of subtle color. His snow is simply sublime, with its effects of depth. He then paints the vegetation in improbable yet so typical colors, using mauves, pinks, blues, greens, and oranges. His figure, entirely in blue, captivates the eye with great skill. In short, Charreton at his finest. Victor Charreton needs no introduction; he is a very famous French painter, leader of the Murols school in Auvergne, founded with Abbé Boudal. Terlikowski, Perouse, Zingg, Busset, Point, Barrière, De Chasteauneuf, and others joined this school. Victor Charreton grew up in a wealthy family. The artist showed an early taste for poetry and painting. His legal studies led him to the profession of solicitor at the Court of Appeal in Lyon. In 1893, he married Elmy Chatin, daughter of a contractor from Puy-de-Dôme. Victor Charreton made his debut at the Salon of the Lyon Society of Fine Arts in 1894. In 1902, he sold his studio to devote himself entirely to painting. Working with both cardboard and canvas, he used both palette knife and brush. In 1903, he founded the Salon d'Automne with the painter Bonnard. His success was rapid, and his reputation soon extended beyond the salons. He resided in Paris but frequently returned to his native Auvergne. He also stayed in Brittany, notably in Pont-Aven in 1910 and 1911, Doëlan, Bénodet, Pont-l'Abbé, and Perros-Guirec. He was awarded the Legion of Honor as a painter in 1914. In 1929, he founded the Bourgoin-Jallieu Museum, of which he became president. It houses the most important collection of Charreton's paintings. He died in Clermont-Ferrand on November 26, 1936. Victor Charreton belonged to that generation of French school artists who devoted themselves entirely to landscape painting, following in the footsteps of the Impressionist painters. He painted en plein air, capturing places that resonated with him according to the seasons, light, and colors. The Auvergne, Brittany, and Provence regions were particularly dear to him, not to mention southern Europe and the Maghreb, where he had the opportunity to stay. He showed a particular fondness for winter landscapes in the Auvergne. His spring and autumn landscapes, on the other hand, explode with color. During his visit to the 1933 Salon d'Automne, Michel Florisoone placed him alongside Maurice Asselin, Gaston Balande, Jean Fernand-Trochain, Tristan Klingsor, Robert Lotiron, Paul-Émile Pissarro, Raymond Renefer, René Seyssaud, Henri Vergé-Sarrat and Jules Zingg, within "the immutable phalanx of landscape painters in love with foliage and rivers." His work is now internationally renowned, with results sometimes exceeding €30,000. And there are numerous books about this artist.