Marthe Debes (1893-1967) l'Hospitalet In Rocamadour

Marthe DEBES
(Strasbourg 1893 – Paris 1967)
The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist in L'Hospitalet, Rocamadour
Oil on pane
H. 39 cm; W. 51 cm
Signed lower right. Located on the back.

An Alsatian painter trained at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, Marthe Debes belongs to the Post-Impressionist movement of the early 20th century. Active from the 1920s, she exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon des Femmes Artistes Modernes, making her mark in an artistic milieu still largely dominated by men. Settling in Paris, Debes discovered the Lot region between the two World Wars. She stayed several times in this unspoiled area of southwestern France, particularly in the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, then a favorite among artists and writers. This hilltop village became a central motif in her work, which she interpreted with great colorist sensitivity and a keen sense of composition. Through her landscapes of the Lot region, Marthe Debes captured the golden light of Quercy summers, the steeply pitched houses clustered around the fortified church, and the cool shadows of the narrow streets. Her painting combines rigorous drawing with a free brushstroke, in a range of warm, muted tones that convey the mineral and secretive character of the region.

The work presented here, typical of this style and forming almost a pair with another work we are exhibiting, delicately captures the charm of this emblematic place in the hills above Rocamadour. L'Hospitalet, a small hamlet located east of the sanctuary on the plateau, was founded as a hospital in the 11th century. Ruins still bear witness to her presence, as does the Saint John the Baptist chapel. Marthe Debes belongs to that generation of traveling artists who offered a unique perspective on the French provinces. Through her paintings of the Lot region, she contributed to the development of a pictorial image of the area, outside the then-emerging tourist circuits. Her work, discreet yet rigorous, deserves wider recognition today, reflecting the attentive gaze she cast upon the landscapes of France.