André Verdilhan (1881-1963) Cathedral De La Major In The La Joliette District In Marseille

Oil on canvas by the painter André Verdilhan representing the Canal Saint Jean in front of the Cathedral of La Major in the district of Joliette in Marseille. The artwork is framed in a modern American box-style frame which measures 86 cm by 70 cm and 61 cm by 46 cm without the frame. In very good condition, it is signed lower left. It is a cheerful and colorful work which appeared in the Louis Mathieu and André Verdilhan retrospective exhibition at the Fondation Regards de Provence in 2007. It is listed in the exhibition catalog. Younger brother of Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan, André Verdilhan attended the Marseille School of Fine Arts directed by Alphonse Moutte and distinguished himself particularly in sculpture. He continued his training in Paris with the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. In 1906, he participated in the Salon des Indépendants with the presentation of various busts, including that of Paul Verlaine, and masks, then from 1910 to 1914. From 1913, he was at the Salon d'Automne and in Parisian galleries where he exhibits his sculptures and paintings, notably genre scenes: Parade du cirque Valat (1914) and Pêcheurs d'urchins (1920), as well as portraits and landscapes. His fame then exceeded that of his brother Louis-Mathieu who had to add the initials of his first names to his signature. In 1918, he exhibited seven views of Marseille, Toulon and Le Havre at the "Exposition des Peintres de la Mer" organized by the French Naval League (Rouen section) at the Rouen painting museum. The Federation of Maritime Trade Unions approached him in 1913 to create a monument celebrating the victims of the sea; this project, abandoned during the First World War, will be taken over by the Marseille Merchant Marine Committee. André Verdilhan therefore produced a bronze group, the monument to the heroes and victims of the sea which is located behind the Palais du Pharo in Marseille and will be inaugurated on July 14, 1923. In 1936 he became a painter for the Department of the Navy and participated in the decoration of the Normandy liner. After 1945 he mainly produced still lifes and landscapes Works in the public collections Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts: Mouette above the waves (1917), oil on canvas (90.5 x 160) Fondation Regards de Provence