Pierre-eugène Clairin - River Banks At A Lock, With Figures - Oil On Canvas - Signed

Pierre-Eugène CLAIRIN (Cambrai, 1897 - Thorigné-en-Charnie, 1980)
River banks at a lock, animated by figures
Cent 1950-1965
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right pierre-eugène Clairin
Canvas: 54.5 × 65 cm - Frame: 73 × 84 cm
Very good condition
Modern frame, very good condition

On the bank of a peaceful river, a shady towpath leads the eye to a white masonry lock, its sober architecture reflected in the calm waters. The scene is enlivened by a few characters captured on the spot - a fisherman seated in the foreground, walkers on the path, a boat in the middle of the current - while in the background, on the wooded hill, the silhouette of a tall industrial chimney stands out. The summer sky, dappled with light touches, bathes the whole in a tranquil golden light.

The composition evokes the valleys of the Île-de-France region so dear to Clairin, who settled in Saint-Loup-de-Naud (Seine-et-Marne) from 1934 onwards. The presence of the lock and chimney points to the Loing basin, in the Moret-sur-Loing or Nemours area - also the territory of Sisley, whose influence shines through here in the vibrant treatment of water and foliage. The free, light touch betrays an eye trained in the school of Sérusier and Vuillard, sensitive to the changing light of watersides.

Chassis with wooden keys. Sound canvas spine, without inscription or label. Modern gilded frame carved with scrolls, excellent condition.

The artist
Pierre-Eugène Clairin was born in Cambrai on March 14, 1897, the son of a cavalry officer and a mother of Anglo-American descent. He entered Fernand Cormon's studio at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1913, before the Great War interrupted his training: enlisted in the cavalry and then the Air Force, he became a war pilot and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Médaille Militaire and the Légion d'Honneur.

On his return to civilian life, he joined Paul Sérusier's studio at the Académie Ranson, where he met Maurice Denis and Édouard Vuillard, who introduced him to engraving and lithography. In 1927, the Bernheim gallery exhibited his work in New York. Winner of the Abd-el-Tif Prize in 1929, he spent two years in Algeria, where he met Albert Camus, whose faithful illustrator he became - Noces, La Femme adulère - and for whom Camus wrote a preface in 1945.

Installed in Saint-Loup-de-Naud from 1934, he decorated the Île-de-France and Vatican pavilions for the 1937 Universal Exhibition. Winner of the Grand Prix de l'Île-de-France in 1957, he was appointed professor at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (1959-1967), then elected member of the Académie des beaux-arts in 1967, engraving section, and president of the Société des peintres-graveurs français from 1970. He died in July 1980, returning from a final exhibition in Pont-Aven.

His works are held in several public collections, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Algiers, the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, as well as MoMA in New York and the Phillips Collection in Washington.

Work on view at the gallery (07240)
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