The Geese-louise Germain (gap, April 22, 1874 - Aix-en-provence, October 13, 1939 )

Les Oies dans la Basse-Cour

Huile sur Toile 57 X 73

Signed lower right and dated 1907

Très Bon Etat

Sold with its frame

L' Artiste : Louise Germain (Gap, April 22, 1874 - Aix-en-Provence, October 13, 1939 )

Born Louise Richier in Gap, she was a French painter whose work was deeply rooted in the landscapes of southern France, particularly around Aix-en-Provence.

Although she spent most of her childhood and adolescence in Algeria, she returned to Marseille before she was twenty.

Training between Marseille and Aix

She began her artistic training in Marseille with animal painter Walter Bildecombe.

A pupil of the animal painter Bildecombe, who taught her a very realistic vision of nature and more particularly of animal figuration,

This initial influence is reflected in her technical precision, but her style was to evolve radically after she moved to Aix-en-Provence with her husband, Eugène Germain.

Meeting Cézanne and Ravaisou, she was the only woman to paint with Cezanne, sometimes compared to the "Impressionist Rosa Bonheur"

Her career took a decisive turn in the late 1890s

In 1898, she met this Aix painter who became her mentor and close friend.

Under his influence, her painting emancipated itself from strict naturalism to become more inventive and vibrant. Louise Germain belongs to the select circle of artists who had the privilege of working alongside the Aix master.

Although she retains her own identity, her landscapes feature a particular attention to structure and light, typical of the Cézanne school.

She is most famous for her Provençal landscapes and still lifes.

Like Cézanne, she repeatedly painted Mont Sainte-Victoire, capturing the changing shades of rock under the Midi sun.

Her touch is often described as both robust and sensitive, favoring ochres, deep blues and garrigue greens.

In 1906, she became a member of the Société des Artistes Français. She exhibited regularly in prestigious galleries, notably the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris in 1935.

Louise Germain died in Aix-en-Provence in 1939. Long overshadowed by the great male masters of her time, she has been the subject of rediscovery in recent years.

In 2009, a major study and exhibitions (notably at the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Archives) brought back to light her crucial role as a woman painter in Cézanne's entourage.

Museums :

Musée du Vieil Aix (Hôtel d'Estienne de Saint-Jean):

This museum holds several of her works, notably Provençal landscapes. One of her paintings, a Provencal Landscape (early 20th century), is on deposit there (from the Hôpital d'Aix).

Musée Granet:

Although the works are not always on permanent display, the museum has paintings by Louise Germain in its reserves or includes them in themed exhibitions on the "Petits Maîtres d'Aix" or on Cézanne's influence.

She was notably featured in the historic 1951 exhibition on the painters of Sainte-Victoire.

L'Atelier de Cézanne (Les Lauves): Temporary exhibitions are sometimes devoted to her here (as in 2014, entitled "Louise Germain: Une vie pour la peinture"), highlighting her importance in the master's entourage.