Louis Suire (1899-1987) Moulin Du Coivre Saint-pierre d'Oléron 1954. La Rochelle, Ré, Balande..

A sublime watercolor by Louis Suire depicting the Coivre mill in Saint-Pierre d'Oléron in 1954, signed and dated lower left and located lower right. The watercolor itself measures 22x28cm and 35x43cm including the frame. This is indeed a very beautiful watercolor by Louis Suire depicting a rather unusual subject: the Île d'Oléron, not the Île de Ré. However, as a neighbor, Suire frequently stayed on the neighboring island, particularly in Saint-Pierre, where he regularly painted the ancestral home of Pierre Loti, as well as the famous Coivre mill. I suggested this same subject a few years ago, except that it was depicted without any activity, whereas this one shows a woman from Oléron in traditional dress. Today, the house next to the mill still exists; it is now a pizzeria. Although Suire is not among the painters recognized for having painted on Oléron like Lessieux, Chevalier, Yvon Massé, Pinetti, or Enard, he is, like them, part of the Charente school. Louis Suire, born on October 29, 1899, in Cognac and died on January 18, 1987, in Lagord, was a French painter and publisher. Born in La Rochelle into a bourgeois family, Louis Suire was able to take drawing lessons early on under Louis Giraudeau. It was also thanks to Giraudeau that he discovered, in 1912, a still wild and very secluded Île de Ré. Immediately captivated by its charm, he decided to one day buy a house there. His talent allowed him to gain admission to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. During this time, he attended the Académie Julian and became friends with Paul Signac, Albert Marquet, and André Dunoyer de Segonzac. After a brief hiatus due to the First World War, he was able to return to La Rochelle, where he quickly married his wife Hélène in 1923—his sweetheart since the age of 14. A year later, their son Claude was born. Five years later, in 1929, the Suire couple bought a house on the Île de Ré, in the village of Les Portes-en-Ré, more precisely in La Rivière. This house later became the studio of Louis Suire's son and grandson, Claude Suire and Olivier Suire-Verley. Still living in La Rochelle and maintaining a pied-à-terre on the island, the Suire family, initially as a couple and later with their son Claude, made numerous trips to the island, which served as inspiration for the painter's prolific work. A brilliant jack-of-all-trades, Suire also became a publisher, founding La Rose des Vents, primarily dedicated to regional art, which he illustrated himself. World War II hit his life harder, resulting in two years of imprisonment in a German labor camp. But he returned to his homeland to continue his artistic work and his life as a resident of La Rochelle and the Île de Ré, but above all, as a husband and father. Louis Suire passed away in 1987, the same year as his wife, Hélène. This watercolor is in very good original condition; only the mat shows some signs of oxidation, but not the watercolor itself. Delivered in a lovely period frame. Artwork guaranteed authentic.