Marcel Dominique Poggioli (1882–1969) Magagnosc, Grasse, In 1943

A lovely document for the residents of this neighborhood in Grasse on the French Riviera, which has undergone so many changes in its urban development.
A bird’s-eye view overlooking the pink-tiled roofs of the hamlet with the Magagnosc bell tower—featuring atypically Genoese-Provençal silhouette—catching the viewer’s eye in the center-right of the composition.
In the background, the hills of the Grasse region unfold in successive layers down to a strip of blue-tinged sea on the horizon, with the Esterel Mountains visible in the distance.
A solid composition featuring a foreground of rooftops and vegetation, a middle ground of the village with its bell tower, and a background of hills fading from blue to gray toward the sea, which lends the scene real depth.
An almost Impressionist style, with vibrant greens applied in comma-like strokes that bring vitality without ever becoming overly detailed.
The work is in good condition, it is signed at the bottom right, and is located and dated 1943 on the back.
It is presented in a lovely carved and gilded frame (to be restored by a professional) measuring 44.5 cm by 56 cm, with the panel alone measuring 33 cm by 41 cm.
A charming and soothing work in the tradition of early 20th-century Provençal landscape painters, featuring the soft, diffused light typical of this artist, who specialized in views of Corsica andProvence.

A landscape painter with a keen sensitivity to the pastel palette, he was a member of the Salon des Artistes Français since 1921.
As a young man, he studied at the Marseille School of Fine Arts and furthered his training with a stay in Italy, first in Florence and then in Rome.
He also spent time at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to his native region.
A professor of drawing and decorative arts at the Marseille School of Fine Arts, a position he held until 1940, Poggioli never denied his Corsican origins (he painted his island with passion) nor his involvement in the Proletarian Artists movement (Art and Work, Maison de la Culture de Marseille in 1936).
Indeed, as Vice-President of the Union des Artistes de Provence, he remained actively involved in the professional life of visual artists and in the organization of various exhibitions.
As for his paintings, poetry and delicacy are the hallmarks of a refined artist.
The Cantini Museum in Marseille houses "The Maquis and the Sea."
He was born in Marseille, where his father, originally from Carbuccia, had come to work as a sailor.
The young artist studied at the Marseille School of Fine Arts and completed his training with a stay in Italy, first in Florence and then in Rome.
He also spent time at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to his native region.
He participated in numerous exhibitions in his city and regularly sent his works to various Parisian salons.
He also fulfilled significant decorative commissions, both public and private, in Marseille and Corsica, and frequently illustrated magazines and books.
In 1921, the former student of the Marseille School of Fine Arts was appointed professor of drawing and decorative arts there, a position he held until 1948.
Poggioli never forgot Corsica and returned to his Ajaccio apartment, which he had converted into a studio, whenever he could.
He also owned a house between Porto and Sagone, where he would spend most of his time after leaving his teaching post in Marseille.
Marcel Poggioli is considered both a Corsican and Provençal artist, a Mediterranean painter above all, who drew his inspiration from the marvelous light of the ports and coves of Corsica and the Mediterranean.