Marcel Belle (1871-1948) Creuse Valley ~1920. Crozant School, Marquet, Basque, Fauve

4th and final work by Marcel Belle, this time a view of the Creuse around 1920, signed lower left, titled on the back + marked posthumous exhibition 1949. Size of the painting alone without frame 38x46cm and 52x60cm including frame. So last work out of 4 by Marcel Belle, the only one on the Creuse valley, which he paints in his most typical way, that is to say in the manner of the Fauves and especially Albert Marquet, with large flat areas stylizing his motif, here for the Creuse he uses Sienna earth, mauve, pink, greens, browns and sky blue. This work is absolutely typical of Marcel Belle, reminiscent of the one reproduced in Christophe Rameix's book. Marcel Belle is a magnificent artist, truly one who has little to envy in his friend Albert Marquet on certain works; personally, he is one of my favorite painters of the Crozant school! 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), sold at auction in Paris in December 2013 for €2600, or nearly €3300. 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 would always come to paint regularly 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, etc. 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 then had a solo exhibition at Bernheim-Jeune 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, as evidenced by this canvas recently sold in 2022 in Melun for €5,600 at auction, which depicted a riverbank, probably the Seine. This painting is in very good condition, delivered in an old frame that has been customized, frankly of little interest, but for the moment it's all I have. Offer. Artwork guaranteed authentic. This oil on cardboard is in very good condition, delivered unframed for the time being. Artwork guaranteed authentic.