Pierre Fleury (1900-1985) Morning Light At Pyla 1930. Painter Of The Air, Yeu, Aix, Crozant

A beautiful new oil on canvas by Pierre Fleury, signed and dated 1930 lower left, and titled on the back "Morning Light at Pyla, April 1930." The canvas measures 50x65cm without the frame and 67x78cm including the frame. This is a very fine work by Pierre Fleury, who, as is often the case, painted a seascape; here, a scene from the Dune du Pyla in the Arcachon Basin in April 1930, making it a fairly early work, as the painter was only 30 years old at the time. At this time, he was already employing his beautiful, richly textured brushstrokes, here in a rather soft palette dominated by pinks, violets, beige, gray, green, and vermilion, and of course, a lovely sky blue tending towards gray. My clients know this painter well, as I am particularly fond of his work, and I have offered several pieces in the past. Most were seascapes of Brittany or the Île d'Yeu, but I even had a striking view of the Trocadéro and, even rarer, views of the Creuse region, including a superb view of Crozant, as he too came to paint in the Creuse Valley. Born on July 6, 1900, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, he died on October 1, 1985, in Paris. He was a student of the engraver Bernard Naudin and the painters Paul Signac and Charles Guérin. After brilliant studies at the Sorbonne (general mathematics, astronomy, philosophy), he set off to live the life of a sailor aboard a Mauritanian vessel from Camaret, a tuna boat from Douarnenez, and a cutter from the Île d'Yeu. Working in oil, gouache, pastel, and pencil, he loved and observed the sea and the clouds. He was appointed Painter of the Air in 1934. Today, there is a charming little museum dedicated to the painter on the Île d'Aix, I believe only open during the summer months, with a different display each year. As a side note, the SNSM (French Sea Rescue Society) lifeboat on the Île d'Aix also bears the name Pierre Fleury. This canvas is in good condition and comes in an antique Montparnasse frame. The artwork is guaranteed authentic.