Paul Bistagne (1850–1886), The Drummer From Cassis

A drumroll followed by the famous: “Noticeto the public!!!”—the rural constable gathering the residents and sharing the news.
A scene of street life that our elders used to hear, but which has now disappeared.
But there is still a legend surrounding the drummer of Cassis, which claims that you had to give him one sou for him to read the news and three sous for him to stop talking, such was his role so seriously and was such a chatterbox.
A by gone era when the people, just like the figures (young and old) in the painting, would come to listen and catch up on the news.
Paul Bistagne, a great master of Provençal painting who died far too young at the age of 36 in 1886.
The work, in good condition, is presented in a beautiful carved Barbizon style frame measuring 85 cm by 113 cm, with the canvas itself measuring 60 cm by 92 cm.
It depicts a town crier at the port of Cassis, parchment in hand, reading the news to a crowd of curious children,fishermen, and even a dog that seems intrigued by the commotion.
A picturesque work, full of life and charm—much beautiful in person, as it is difficult to photograph due to the glazes and varnishes used by the artist, which darken the photos.
Signed and dated (18)84 in the lower right corner.
Come see it for yourself at the gallery.

A marine painter and admirer of Ziem, Bistagne was a little-known artist who worked with François Barry. He entered the Marseille School of Fine Arts at 18, where he met Barry, whom he later encountered again in Paris, where Barry was an official figure of the Second Empire and the official painter of the Navy. Did Bistagne participate in Barry's last voyages to the East? We don't know. Bistagne is, however, documented in the 1875 Salon catalog and in an 1878 painting, "The Eastern Port." Returning to Marseille at an uncertain date, he set up a studio where he painted Provençal seascapes, some landscapes, and views of Venice and the Bosphorus, which he populated with figures. His skill at this time was closer to that of Félix Ziem than to that of François Barry. His early death makes it impossible to speculate on what his later work would have been like, as we have only a few surviving pieces. A posthumous recognition came to him with the 1906 Colonial Exhibition where his work was exhibited.
At the Toulon Museum, "Boats on Land and Fishermen" (1885).
At the Musée des Regards de Provence, "The Sardana Dancers."