Louis Valtat (1869-1952) - Sous-bois à Choisel

Oil on canvas, trace of monogram lower right
Dimensions: H. 32 x W. 40 cm (with frame: H. 53 x W.61 cm)

Louis Valtat is one of the great French Neo-Impressionist painters. His painting, influenced by that of his friends Cross and Signac, is powerful and colorful. Valtat entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris at the age of 18, and continued his apprenticeship in Gustave Moreau's studio and then at the Académie Julian. His talent was soon recognized, and he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants as early as 1889. Like Van Gogh, Louis Valtat sought out the study of light and moved to Anthéor, near Le Lavandou and Saint-Tropez, until 1914. Valtat's colors are pure and violent, except when he rubbed shoulders with and drew inspiration from the Nabis movement around 1900.

Valtat is a fauve by nature. In 1903, he took part in the first Salon d'Automne, where he presented landscapes with an extremely colorful palette, prefiguring the Fauve movement. Ambroise Vollard, the art dealer who discovered Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso, soon took an interest in Valtat and decided to organize a solo exhibition for him. In 1905, Louis Valtat was noticed at the Salon d'Automne in the Cage aux Fauves with Marquet and Matisse. He remained closer to Guillaumin and Cross than to Matisse, of whom he was an exact contemporary.

Settling in the Paris region after 1914, Valtat evolved alone, in a style always concerned with plastic and colorful balance. From then on, he often returned to Normandy, where he had grown up, and from where he brought back views of harbors and landscapes. Until 1948, when he unfortunately lost his sight, Valtat's painting remained marked by Fauvism.
In 1952, a major retrospective of his work was organized at the Salon d'Automne.

Museums :
New York Met & Moma, Saint Petersburg L'Hermitage, Brussels Musée Royal , Bordeaux Musée des Beaux-Arts, Paris Petit Palais & Musée d'Orsay, ...

Our painting was made around 1925 in the woods of Choisel, a small village in the Chevreuse valley, where Valtat had acquired a property. It was here that he liked to entertain friends such as Georges d'Espagnat and Maximilien Luce.

This painting immediately captures the viewer's eye, whether layman or enlightened. The subject, an undergrowth with no human or animal presence and virtually no visible sky, is a challenge. With abundant foliage and a simple forest path, Valtat manages to give the scene a heightened reality by simplifying the brushstrokes and using skilful lighting. If we look closely, the trunks and branches are created by contours where the brush doesn't lift: Valtat is at the height of his art, his mastery of lines is total.

Although the color green dominates, the nuances are infinite, suggesting depth and the light that seeps through the green holes. The flat tones of pure, contrasting colors, especially on the path, are a model of suggestive simplification; the play of light and shadow invites us to enjoy a sunny day in the freshness of the trees.