Louis Nattero (1870–1915) Fishermen At Martigues. Marseille, Provençal School, Olive, Gaussen

A beautiful oil on panel by Louis Nattero depicting fishermen in Martigues around 1890/1900, signed lower right
Panel dimensions alone: 22x46 cm unframed and 31.5x56 cm framed
Painting in very good original condition; additionally delivered in a lovely 19th-century gilded frame with fluted molding, possibly its original frame
Authenticity guaranteed

This is a magnificent composition by Louis Nattero; here he paints one of his favorite subjects, the famous Martigues, depicting fishermen and their boats, and of course the houses with their multicolored stucco.
His brushwork is instantly recognizable, as is his palette, where blues, turquoises, browns, and reds blend with intense yellows.
A superb painting by one of Marseille’s most famous painters.
Louis Nattero (Louis Alexandre Marie), born on October 16, 1870, in Marseille and died in the same city on November 10, 1915, buried in a mass grave at the Mazargues Cemetery, was a Marseille painter whose brief career began at the end of the 19th century and came to an abrupt end one autumn day in 1915.

Laurent Nattero, Louis’s grandfather (born February 25, 1798, in Alassio and died October 14, 1877, in Marseille), left Italy after the death of his wife Jéromine (born May 6, 1804) in 1843 to settle in Marseille, accompanied by his two sons, Jean-Baptiste and Dominique. He worked as a day laborer, and his sons worked in construction. Laurent left his daughter Marie Nattero behind in Italy.

Louis Nattero’s father married Marie Daulignac for the first time on November 12, 1861, and from this union a little boy named Laurent was born. After the death of his first wife, Dominique Nattero remarried Jeanne Joussaume on September 16, 1865; with her, he had four children, all born in Marseille: Alphonse (November 5, 1866), Antoine-Joseph (October 22, 1867), Agathe-Joséphine (November 5, 1868), and Louis (October 16, 1870).

Dominique and Jeanne separated on April 13, 1872, and their divorce was finalized on August 12, 1897. After the couple’s separation, the children were placed in an orphanage until they came of age.
After an unhappy childhood, Louis turned to painting; he created his first works around the age of 11 (portraits of children)—portraits he managed to sell to support himself.
On October 29, 1891, in Toulon, he married Lucie Durbec, with whom he had six sons, one daughter, and two stillborn children. His son, Joseph Nattero, born in Marseille in 1904, would follow in his father’s footsteps and paint throughout his life.
Between 1891 and 1904, the painter lived in Toulon, in various locations.
His talent was quickly recognized, and his paintings enjoyed great success beginning in 1905. He participated in most of the art shows in the Marseille and Toulon regions and worked tirelessly to support his large family.

In Toulon, he exhibited, among other places, at the Lacqua framing shop (31 rue d’Alger) and at the Albano Gallery (rue des Trois Dauphins). In 1902, he participated in the exhibition of the Amis des Arts de Toulon and won several prizes there.
In Marseille, his studio was located on Boulevard de la Corderie, and his works were regularly featured at the Vallet Gallery on Rue Paradis. He exhibited at the Association des Étudiants salon and at the Grand Cercle Républicain in 1905.
In 2004, the Musée du Vieux Toulon organized an exhibition: “Louis Nattero (1870–1915) – Victor Senchet (1879–1973), Painters”.
Today, his works are still highly sought after and appear in the catalogs of several auctions.