Henri Martin (1860–1943) — Toward The Allée Des Reines, First Sketch

Study for Panel No. 5 of the decorative scheme for the City Hall of Paris’s 5th arrondissement, 1935

Provenance: 
The artist’s studio
Cyrille Martin Estate
Private collection, Paris

Certification of inclusion in the Catalogue Raisonné of Henri Martin, currently being prepared by Ms. Marie-Anne Destrebecq-Martin.

Henri Martin: From Academic Tradition to Colorful Modernity

Henri Jean Guillaume Martin was born in Toulouse in the summer of 1860. The son of a cabinetmaker, he was quickly drawn to the world of the arts. Thus, beginning in 1877 and for two years, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse in the studio of the painter Jules Garipuy. Subsequently, a municipal scholarship enabled him to continue his training in Paris under the guidance of his mentor Jean-Paul Laurens, a painter and sculptor.

In 1885, his trip to Italy marked a turning point in his life, reflected in his art particularly through a more poetic approach. Indeed, having set out to study the Primitives, the young artist began to distinguish himself technically from that point on: this geographical distance allowed Henri Martin to step back from his academic training and set himself apart by developing his own style: short brushstrokes, vivid and luminous colors, idealized scenes, and a dreamlike atmosphere, among other elements.

In the early 20th century, the painter devoted his art to numerous public commissions, decorating buildings such as the Capitole in his hometown, the Sorbonne, and the Élysée Palace (1908), as well as the Council of State (1914–1922). Once settled in his studio in Labastide-du-Vert (Lot), he moved away from the Symbolist themes of his early years—without entirely abandoning them—to embrace a style blending Fauvism and Pointillism. Appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1914, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Fine Arts (painting section) in 1917.

Henri Martin, who died in 1943 in Labastide-du-Vert, remains a renowned artist whose world—imbued with poetry, dreams, and mystery—is an invitation to journey, evoking his favorite writers: Baudelaire, of course, but also Verlaine, Poe, and Lord Byron. Today, the Henri-Martin Museum in Cahors continues to honor the painter’s work, with a permanent exhibition featuring more than fifty of his paintings.