André Prugent (1882-1965) Riverside Périgueux Dordogne Périgord

André PRUGENT
(Périgueux 1882 - 1965)
Wooded riverside
Oil on paper
H. 26.5 cm; W. 20 cm
Signed lower right

Provenance: Private collection, Périgord

During his childhood in the capital of Périgord, André Prugent attended the city's drawing school, run at the end of the 19th century by Jean-Louis Daniel . Quickly becoming his favorite pupil, this leader of the school of Périgueux will not fail to direct him following rapid progress, at the Salon des Artistes Français where he will exhibit for the first time at the age of 18. After the mobilization of 14-18, Prugent returned to his land where he was regularly accompanied on outings to paint on the motif, by Emile Chaumont, André Saigne, Gustave Chérifel, etc. This younger generation usually met in the afternoon, when Prugent left the reins of the family shop to his wife. This store was none other than the place of supply for the painters of the region since there were the colors, canvases and other supports necessary for the arts. The windows of this place located rue de la Clarté in Périgueux were also the place of permanent exhibition of the painter's latest works. In love with the nearby regions of the Isle valley, the names of Chancelade, Champcevinel, Bassillac appear on numerous occasions in the painter's compositions. The very simple media that André Prugent used often marked the touch of this artist that some compared to Cézanne during his lifetime. Thick frames of canvas, flexible cardboard, added to a large and sometimes very thick touch gave a lively character to his works. In 1929, he became a member of the French Artists and continued to exhibit at the Salon until the dawn of the Second World War. However, he continues to exhibit in various French cities and will see his local work crowned with a retrospective exhibition at the Palais des Fêtes in Périgueux, where oils, pastels, watercolors and woodcuts rubbed shoulders, in this year 1965, the day before his death. We noticed several works signed and dated in English. This fact is unexplained today, and invites you to contact us if you have any information that could provide us with information.

This charming oil on paper certainly represents the banks of the Isle, which Prugent has painted on numerous occasions. The tortuous trees and sculpted by the thick touch form a mass in the composition, which is lightened by the presence of the stream.