Jules-louis Moreteau, "yengué On The Road To Télimélé," Landscape Of Guinea, 1936, Oil On Panel

This work depicts a Guinean landscape located in “Yengué, on the road to Télimélé, in the Mamou district, Timbitouni canton.” It is dated 1936, the year the artist traveled to French West Africa (AOF) on a government scholarship to work as a landscape painter documenting the local territories and customs. 

Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1926, and an exhibitor at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Vincennes, he also received government grants that sent him to paint the landscapes of French colonial territories. Originally from Bordeaux, the artist also painted a few landscapes of Italy—and many works depicting the Maghreb and West Africa.

Here, in a mountainous setting, Jules-Louis Moréteau builds depth of field through a succession of planes—from the vegetation to the road, the stone columns, and the gray sky.
Beyond the artist’s technique, a palette of tones runs through his work and demonstrates a true talent for depicting the regions he visited—their landscapes, light, and sometimes local cultures—both faithfully and with feeling. (Feel free to browse the artist’s other works that we have posted online).

The artwork is framed and in very good condition. Its dimensions without the frame are as follows: 27 cm wide, 22 cm high.

Here is a brief biography of the artist:
Jules Louis Moréteau (1886–1956) was a traveling painter born in Bordeaux. He was a renowned painter associated with the artistic movements known as Orientalism and Africanism. He received his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His teachers included Gabriel Ferrier, François Flameng, and Charles Fouqueray. Winner of the Prix de Rome in 1926, he painted Rabat, Safi, and Mogador. In 1935, he won a travel grant to French West Africa and visited Senegal, Sudan, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast. He exhibited with the Société des Artistes Français and participated in the Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931. A paragraph is devoted to him in the book by Lynne Thornton, *em* *Les africanistes Peintres voyageurs* , published by ACR.