Louis Agricol Montagné (1879–1960) Steet Of Villeneuve Les Avignon In Winter

The atmosphere of a Jean Giono novel and the harshness of winter in the villages of Haute-Provence. The snow, though unusual in the south of France, inspired the great artist of the Avignon School, Louis Agricol Montagné, for this occasion. A beautiful use of materials with carefully chosen effects, a magnificent treatment of light that illuminates the facades of the old houses at the end of the street and, in the foreground, in the shadows, figures laden with bundles of firewood convey the harshness of the moment and make the viewer long to go inside and warm up by the fireplace.
The work, in excellent condition, is signed in the lower right corner and is presented in a modern American-style frame in natural oak, measuring 61 cm x 44 cm, while the canvas itself measures 55 cm x 38 cm.
An intense work, created in a single stroke, that leaves no one unmoved.
It is signed in the lower right corner.

At a very young age, in 1900 he collaborated with Paul Saïn on the decoration of the Le Trainbleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. He exhibited in Paris at the Salon d'Automne from 1901 and was declared hors concours (out of competition) in 1911, which earned him a travel grant. Appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honor, he was made an Officer in 1932. Living in Paris and in the village of Les Angles, at the Château de Pontmartin, he was a member of the Groupe des Treize (Group of Thirteen) and the new group of regional artists. Introduced into official circles, he painted the portrait of President Loubet's brother in 1905 and received commissions from Baron de Rothschild and the Austro-Hungarian Council. Montagné was appointed director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Avignon from 1920 to 1928 and curator of the museum in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. He illustrated André Hallays' book, Avignon, published in 1928 by Henri Babou, with twenty watercolors. He directed several organizations, including the Committee for the Preservation of Sites and Monuments of Vaucluse, the Association of French Landscape Painters, and the Association of French Watercolorists. He founded the Salon of Drawing and Watercolor Painting. Works in Public Collections: Undergrowth of Provence, 65 x 81.2 cm, Museum of Fine Arts of Dijon, Dijon; Portrait of Jules Belleudy at his desk, Calvet Museum, Avignon; View of Avignon, Grenoble Museum, Grenoble; Morning on the banks of the Rhône in Avignon, Museum of Fine Arts of Bernay, Bernay; Avignon, Sunset, Comtadin-Duplessis Museum, Carpentras; Shepherd and sheep on the Plateau des Angles (1908); The Varins Farm; Haymaking, Watercolor; The courtyard of the Calvet Museum, Calvet Museum, Avignon; The Ollargues Bridge, Alfred-Danicourt Museum, Péronne; Old street in Riez, Museum of Fine Arts of Troyes; Lively street in Uzès; The small sitting room; Boudoir with blue shawl; Pontmartin: the dresser with the green armchair, Ardèche village; Pontmartin's Comtoise-style kitchen Pontmartin: the china cabinet