Pierre Dumont - A Village Street

Oil on canvas by Pierre Dumont (1884–1936) depicting a village street. Signed in oil in the lower right corner. Framed with an A. Goude stamp in Paris.

Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm; with frame: 63 x 72 cm

In this work, Pierre Dumont employs his characteristic Expressionist technique, making use of thick impasto. This painting, created around 1920, is a fine example of his work. On the one hand, it is very luminous and avoids the blacks that he sometimes used too liberally. On the other hand, the fluid lines of the houses breathe a great deal of life into the composition. This effect is reinforced by the curve that draws the viewer’s gaze toward the background.

A genius, a comet, a dictator of modernity—Pierre Dumont was born in 1884. In 1907, he founded the Group of the XXX with Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck. In 1912, he co-founded a magazine with Guillaume Apollinaire titled *La Section d’Or*. As part of this initiative, Apollinaire came to Rouen to deliver a lecture titled “The Modern Sublime.” After befriending Gris, Lhote, and Picabia, he decided to move to Paris. There, he painted views of the capital, particularly of Montmartre. Consumed by bouts of delirious rage, he died at the age of 52 at Sainte-Anne Hospital.