Tony Agostini (1916-1990) - Chaise Verte

This colorful oil painting by Tony Agostini is a characteristic example of his intimate interior and still life works, rooted in the tradition of the École de Paris.

- Artist: Tony Peter Agostini (1916-1990)
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 22 x 12 cm (without frame); 39 x 29 cm (with frame)
- Period: +/- 1960
- Signed: lower right and on the back of the canvas
- Sold with frame

The work on offer is not a lithograph, but a unique, original, hand-painted signed oil painting. Still lifes with the rustic chair (chaise rustique) are among the most sought-after and iconic motifs in Agostini’s oeuvre. This is not a 'by-the-way study', but a full-fledged, representative key work.

Centrally, a classic, rustic wooden chair with a cane seat holds a glass vase containing a lush, warm-toned bouquet of flowers. Agostini creates a bold contrast by complementing the deep, vibrant turquoise and petrol-blue hues of the chair with the warm honey- and terracotta-like colors of the cane and the flowers. The background is built from abstract, vertical bands in dark, melancholic tones, making the central composition stand out powerfully and giving it a theatrical depth.

The flowers are applied with a thick, tangible paint texture (impasto). This gives the roses or peonies a sculptural, three-dimensional texture and a lively dynamism.

Biography

Tony Agostini (born Antoine Sylvestre Agostini) was a prominent French painter and lithographer belonging to the post-World War II French art movement of the École de Paris. He is known for his powerful still lifes and his ability to transform everyday interiors into expressive, colorful compositions.

In the artistic district of Montmartre, he met influential figures such as the painter Gen Paul and writers Francis Carco and Marcel Aymé. These encounters inspired him to devote his life wholly to art from 1946.

His vivid use of color was strongly influenced by his neighbor Gen Paul. For the tight composition and design, he looked to the principles of Paul Cézanne, combined with Cubist distortions. In his early years, he mainly painted the dynamics of crowds and the nocturnal Parisian city life with a dark palette. Later his work brightened, and his focus shifted to landscapes, studio interiors, and intimate still lifes.

From his first exhibitions in 1947 and 1948, he regularly exhibited at prominent galleries such as Galerie Visconti (1951-1952) and Galerie Charpentier (1957-1963) in Paris. From 1959 he drew international attention with solo shows in New York and San Francisco. He was a familiar presence at leading annual Paris salons, including Salon des Peintres Témoins de leur Temps (from 1953), the influential School of Paris exhibitions at Galerie Charpentier, and the Salon des Tuileries (1957).

Works by Tony Agostini are included in various leading national and international museum collections: Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Musée Fesch in Corsica, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi, France, and the Musée Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France.