Charles Bichet (1863-1929) Portrait And/or Seated Nude. Fauve, Limoges, Crozant, Guillaumin, Valtat

Two superb pastel and sanguine drawings by Charles Bichet: a portrait of a woman circa 1905, pastel signed with the monogram CB in the lower left corner. Drawing dimensions: 31x21cm and 46x36cm including frame. Price of this pastel alone: €430. Also included is a magnificent seated nude, pastel and sanguine, signed with the monogram CB in the lower right corner. Drawing dimensions: 31x23cm and 45x38cm including frame. This pastel was featured in the 2002 exhibition at the Artset gallery in Limoges, reproduced in color in the catalogue (see last photo). Price of this drawing alone: €380. Or price for both drawings: €700 (all in perfect condition in contemporary frames). Bichet needs no introduction; he is one of the most important painters in Limoges, along with his friend Eugène Alluaud and his son-in-law Léon Jouhaud, to whom he gave his first lessons. He is of course also part of the Crozant school, since he would set up his easel on the banks of the Creuse, often near Anzême, but his favorite places would remain the area around Limoges, as well as Eymoutiers, or the Corrèze, but also La Rochelle and Paris where he was born. Bichet would finally be an excellent painter of still lifes as well as portraits, in short a complete painter who was very much of his time; It has sometimes been said that he was a talented follower, but this was not the case, as we now know that he produced Fauvist works from 1902/1904 onwards, right in the heart of Fauvism and therefore at the same time as Vlaminck, Valtat, Dufy, Matisse, etc. However, despite some impressive sales results, sometimes exceeding €4,000 or even €10,000 for some portraits, his market value remains very low compared to the quality of his work. As an aside, during an exhibition in Limoges where Bichet shared the walls with Armand Guillaumin, the latter couldn't help but speak highly of Bichet's pastels, a remark that was widely noted and would become legendary, as it was well known that the master from the Creuse region was very sparing with praise, especially towards his fellow painters... Charles Théodore Antoine Bichet was born on December 15, 1863 in Charles-Théodore Bichet was born in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. He was a student of Edmond Lechevallier-Chevignard at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, notably in 1903, 1904, and 1905. In 1884, he began teaching drawing in the schools of the City of Paris, then moved to Limoges where he also taught drawing. He taught numerous students, some of whom also became painters, such as Marcel Merguiller, who wrote a book about his teacher that is now considered a standard reference (I am also selling two gouache paintings by Merguiller; feel free to ask me for photos). Initially a classical painter and watercolorist, he later turned to Post-Impressionism and Fauvism from 1902/1903 onward. Charles-Théodore Bichet died on March 28, 1929, in Limoges.