Tony Agostini (1916-1990) - Chaise Verte

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

- Artist: Tony Peter Agostini (1916-1990)
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 22 x 12 cm (framed 39 x 29 cm)
- Period: +/- 1960
- Signed: lower right and on the back of the canvas
- Sold with frame

The work offered for sale 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 ‘study in between’, but a full, representative masterwork.

At the center is a classical, rustic wooden chair with a wicker seat, on which a glass vase with a lush, warm-colored bouquet of flowers is placed. Agostini creates a bold contrast by complementing the deep, vivid turquoise and petrol-blue tones of the chair with the warm honey- and terracotta-like colors of the wicker and flowers. The background is built up from abstract, vertical bands in dark, melancholic shades, making the central composition stand out powerfully and giving it a theatrical depth.

The flowers are applied with a thick, palpable 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-war 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 entirely to art from 1946.

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

From his first exhibitions in 1947 and 1948, he regularly displayed at prominent galleries such as Galerie Visconti (1951-1952) and Galerie Charpentier (1957-1963) in Paris. From 1959 he attracted international attention with solo shows in New York and San Francisco. He was a regular presence at leading annual Paris salons, including the 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.