Guigou Paul (1834-1871) "the Banks Of The Durance" Provence Marseille Paris Avignon Loubon Ziem Monticelli

GUIGOU Paul (1834-1871)

"Characters on the banks of the Durance, 1871"

Watercolor on paper,
Signed and dated 1871 lower right,

Provenance, according to the owner's label:
- Collection Villeboeuf, Paris
- Private collection: bought by the grandparents and by descent to the current owner.

Exhibition, according to the label of its owner:
- Galerie Dabert, Paris, 1952

The work is in very good condition, slightly exposed and the presence of three small bites.

Beautiful watercolor work of the painter Paul Camile Guigou which represents a Provencal landscape and more precisely an animated view of characters on the banks of the Durance, near Châteaurenard (Bouches-du-Rhône).

Our work dated 1871 was made during the last year of his life. Mobilized from September 29, 1870 in the Alpines camp at Graveson, Paul Guigou practiced the technique of watercolor, because it was faster, meeting his painter needs. During this period Paul Guigou produced watercolors in small formats representing views of Provence, the surroundings of Graveson, the Alpines camp near Arles, the edges of the Berre pond or the Durance.

Pupil of Camp, professor of drawing at the college of Apt, he was received bachelor of letters in Aix en Provence in 1851. Thanks to the advice of the painter Prosper Grésy, he devoted himself to painting when he was intended as a clerk of notary to resume the notarial study of an uncle in Marseille.

In 1854, he exhibited his first works at the Salon of the society of Bouches-du-Rhône and was introduced by the painter Prosper Grésy in the workshop of Emile Loubon. With the painter Adolphe Monticelli, he went on the motif, on the banks of the Durance to sketch drawings which he would use to make paintings in his workshop.
In 1855, he went to Paris to visit the Universal Exhibition and the Salon. From this year, he will alternate in his production works having as subjects Ile-de-France and Provence.

From 1861, he exhibited regularly in Marseille, Périgueux, Lyon, Besançon and Bordeaux. Succeeding in making a living from his painting, his family agreed to abandon the notarial profession. From then on, he moved to Montmartre. During his whole life he shared his time between Paris and Provence, and also made a trip to Algeria with Auzende in 1866.

In 1864, he became an active member of the Académie des aquafortistes and a member of the French artists' society. in 1868.
It was during this period that the watercolor technique took a large place in the artist's production.

On September 29, 1870, he was mobilized and sent to the army of the Loire. After his demobilization and a short stay in Provence, he was hired by the Baroness de Rothschild, Ziem's friend, to give drawing lessons to her children.

On December 21, 1871, at the age of 37, Paul Guigou died suddenly of cerebral congestion.

After only 17 years of artistic career, his work and his talent are now recognized. And, Paul Guigou is one of the great masters of Provençal painting.

These works are kept in different French and foreign museums such as: Musée d'Orsay in Paris, in Toulon, Marseille, Cannes ...

Size: 12.5 x 20.8 cm at sight without frame and 35 x 40.5 h cm with its original old wooden frame.
Our work is framed with a museum glass anti-UV.

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