Alfred Georges Hoën (1868–1954) The Square Tower In Nontron

Alfred Georges HOËN
(Bar-le-Duc 1868 – Paris 1954)
The Square Tower in Nontron
Watercolor
H. 42.5 cm; W. 27.5 cm (visible area)
Signed lower right, dated 1943

An artist from Lorraine, Alfred Hoën first trained in his home region before moving to Paris to attend the School of Decorative Arts, then the School of Fine Arts, where he joined Jean-Léon Gérôme’s studio. His arrival in the capital in 1890 allowed him to achieve success in a wide variety of genres, ranging from portraiture to landscape, including genre scenes and still lifes, in both oil and watercolor. He spent time in the United States at the end of World War I, a stay that appears to have lasted many years—possibly until the outbreak of the next war in 1939.

During that war, Hoën, like many people from Lorraine and Alsace, sought refuge in Périgueux. There, he painted numerous views and scenes of daily life that are familiar to the people of Périgueux. It appears that a very large part of his studio collection remained in Périgueux with the family that had taken him in. An auction featuring dozens of his works took place in the 2000s.

These are compositions in soft hues, full of charm, which Alfred Hoën created primarily from life, leaving in his watercolors the imprint of his creative period through the tones and half-tones he allowed to shine through.

Nontron, perched on its ridge, once had a medieval castle and a church at its heart, north of the current cutlery factory. On this mound stand today the auditorium and a large building set against the ramparts. Nearby stood a square keep overlooking the town’s western valley. Like all the other medieval buildings, it was razed to the ground and rebuilt around 1900 in a form close to the original, while being adapted for modern residential use.
Taken from Rue Antonin Debidour, this low-angle view reveals a historical feature of Nontron that visitors are not accustomed to seeing.