Pierre Ladureau (1882–1974) Roofs Of Vendôme. School Of The Marne, Dunkirk, Guêry Bocquet, Reims

A superb small oil painting on cardboard by Pierre Ladureau depicting a view of the rooftops of Vendôme, signed in the lower right corner and on the back.
Dimensions: 12x18 cm
Oil painting has been cleaned, in very good condition, delivered unframed
Authenticity guaranteed

This is a rather post--Impressionist composition by Pierre Ladureau, as it depicts Vendôme, a town rarely painted by the artist. Its composition is highly modern, with the interlocking rooftops forming a bold geometric pattern, while his palette and brushwork are very characteristic of the artist.

Pierre Ladureau ranks among the finest painters of the École de la Marne, alongside Bocquet, Prodhon, Guêry, Lepetit, and others… There is, in fact, an excellent book on this school written by Noêl Coret, which I highly recommend.

He was a student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, enrolled at the Académie Julian, where he took classes with Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921).
He exhibited in Paris (Société des Artistes Français, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Indépendants, Galerie d’Art Contemporain (1927, 1929), various galleries) and in the provinces (Dunkirk, the “Nord de la France” exhibition, various galleries), …
Before 1924, he created the mural decoration for the living room of a bourgeois home in Château-Thierry, depicting landscapes of the town’s surroundings in the background and illustrated with Jean de La Fontaine’s fables in the foreground.
In 1932, he authorized the reproduction of “A Village in Champagne on the Marne” as the frontispiece for the 1932–33 volume of the Annales de la SHACT (Historical and Archaeological Society of Château-Thierry).

Château-Thierry Historical and Archaeological Society, Member, 1927–1974

Knight of the Legion of Honor by decree of December 30, 1933, then Officer by decree of August 24, 1955.