Abel Lauvray (1870-1950) - Temple grec

Abel LAUVRAY (1870-1950)

Greek temple

Oil on canvas
Format: 54 x 81 cm
Signed at the bottom left.
Tableau in good condition.

Provenance
Yves Jaubert Gallery
- Sale Atelier Lauvray, Ader, 2009

Painting registered and reproduced in the catalogue raisonné of Abel Lauvray's work under number: 025.

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Abel Lauvray was born in 1870 into a family of wealthy Norman notaries, and everything seemed destined for him to follow this 'hereditary' profession—if fate had not decided otherwise. In this case, destiny took the form of a young romantic and innovative painter, heavily criticized by journalists and art enthusiasts across Europe: Claude Monet. To properly situate this period, which marks the birth of Impressionism, one must remember that the Second Empire had just fallen and the Third Republic was emerging. The atmosphere was one of change. A small group of painters—Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Guillaumin, and Pissarro—resisted the yoke of classicism. They had a different conception of color and light and, alas, with limited means, they tried to make their voices heard. The young Abel Lauvray was nine years old when one of these, Claude Monet, moved to Vétheuil, in a small house just a few meters from the Lauvray estate, a beautiful 18th-century residence that was their favorite retreat. The 'Master of Impressionism' often set up his easel on the terrace of the Lauvrays, from where there was a beautiful view of the magnificent 13th-century church, a pride of this lovely town nestled in the hills bordering a large loop of the Seine, placed there like a jewel in a setting. Monet’s visit to Vétheuil coincided with the darkest period of his life. He was unable to sell his works and fell into great poverty. He lost his wife Camille and had to support his two children, Jean and Michel. The Lauvray family was not indifferent to their new neighbor’s plight. They lent him money and commissioned a portrait of his younger son, André. Monet did not forget this kindness, and when he returned in 1893 to paint his famous series of 70 Vétheuil paintings from his boat-studio, his first visit was to his friends. The young Abel was overjoyed to accompany the master and see, under his agile fingers, these marvelous landscapes come to life—transformed on a canvas by a few magical brushstrokes, radiating light in multiple tones that only the prophets of the New School—the Impressionists—could perceive and reproduce. Abel Lauvray was captivated; he had faith, he would become a painter, and nothing, not even the aftermath of the war, could deter him. After studying law in Paris, a concession to his family, he enrolled at the Cormon Academy of Painting and, always following Monet’s advice, began to paint on his own. Monet later gave him his boat-studio, and Lauvray traveled along the Seine from Vétheuil to Mantes, tirelessly bringing back a significant number of paintings—estimated at around 1,500—that represent his 60 active years of painting. Reading these lines, one might think that this painter was merely a follower, even a copier of Monet and the Impressionists, his friends. But this is not the case, as Claude Roger Marx acknowledges: 'Even when Lauvray treats subjects identical to those of Monet, sitting in the same spot at the same hours, often very close to the master himself, he demonstrates a quite different temperament.' Pierre Cabanne confirms this in one of his prefaces: 'No one indoctrinated him; he remains free, loving to express the things around him, but as he saw fit, according to his own pleasure.' Lauvray was free from financial need and thus independent. He owned several properties. In Mantes, he inherited a luxurious villa with an exact replica of Monet’s Giverny studio as his workshop. Unfortunately, after liberation, this villa was requisitioned by General Rohmel’s headquarters, the studio was destroyed, and about 500 paintings were burned. He also traveled extensively, and several paintings attest to his landscapes in Venice, Syracuse, Athens, and elsewhere, making his work geographically quite diverse. Gérald Schurr analyzes Lauvray’s work as follows: 'While the vaporous and shimmering quality of the light indeed makes him resemble the Master of the Water Lilies, his sharp and refined touch sets him apart; his conception remains more classical in composition and arrangement of masses. He excels in half-tones and in the nuanced lighting of uncertain hours—from dawn to dusk: a kind of chamber music comparable to some harmonies of Camille Pissarro; the example of Monet and also that of the Barbizon painters bathes his landscapes in a tone of gravity.' Over the years, his brushwork became lighter, and the impasto gradually faded into fluid touches. In summary, Lauvray is a 'witness painter of his time.' Influenced by the Barbizon School, committed to Impressionism, indifferent to Cubism and Surrealism, and later in life attracted to Expressionism approaching abstraction, his work remains consistent. His landscapes are a thorough study of light, reflected in the water of the Seine and the Rhône. His skies with bright, fleeting clouds, which Monet appreciated, are remarkable. Lauvray is a master full of delicacy, charm, and finesse. The gentle way of life, calm, and silence emanate from his landscapes, conveying a sense of solidarity.