André Verdilhan (1881-1963) Quai Du Canal, Marseille - Cours d'Estienne d'Orves

In this lovely testimony to the past, you'll find all the charmof Marseille's old quarters when the Cours Estienne d'Orves was a canal, the "Canal de la Douane" formerly occupied by the Arsenaldes Galères, and was appreciated by many artists for its bucolic charm that gave the Old Port an air of Venice, Bruges or Amsterdam.
The work in its original format (40 x 40 cm) is in excellent condition and is presented in an attractive Montparnasse frame measuring 56 cm by 56 cm.
It depicts, with sensitivity and gentleness, in the mannerof the great Albert Marquet, in a palette of soft colors, a bird's-eye view of the Cours d'Estienne d'Orves district in the 1920s, with bustling characterson the quay, on the bridge and on a boat.
Signed lower right.
A lovely testimony, full of a bygone era.

The younger brother of Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan, André Verdilhan studied at the Marseille School of Fine Arts under Alphonse Moutte and distinguished himself particularly in sculpture. He continued his training in Paris with the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. In 1906, he participated in the Salon des Indépendants, exhibiting various busts, including one of Paul Verlaine, and masks, and again from 1910 to 1914. Beginning in 1913, he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and in Parisian galleries, showing his sculptures and paintings, notably genre scenes such as Parade of the Valat Circus (1914) and Sea Urchin Fishers (1920), as well as portraits and landscapes. His renown then surpassed that of his brother Louis-Mathieu, who had to add his initials to his signature. In 1918, he exhibited seven views of Marseille, Toulon, and Le Havre at the "Exhibition of Painters of the Sea" organized by the French Naval League (Rouen section) at the Rouen Museum of Painting.

The Federation of Maritime Unions approached him in 1913 to create a monument commemorating the victims of the sea; this project, abandoned during the First World War, was taken up by the Marseille Merchant Marine Committee. André Verdilhan thus created a bronze group, the Monument to the Heroes and Victims of the Sea, which stands behind the Palais du Pharo in Marseille and was inaugurated on July 14, 1923. In 1936, he became an official painter for the Department of the Navy and participated in the decoration of the ocean liner Normandie. After 1945, he primarily painted still lifes and landscapes.

Works in public collections

Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts: Seagull over the waves (1917), oil on canvas (90.5 x 160 cm)
Regards de Provence Foundation