Paul Désiré Trouillebert (1829-1900), Barques sur les bords de Loire

Paul Désiré TROUILLEBERT (1829-1900),

Oil on board, 28.5 x 40 cm,

Signed lower left

Paul-Désiré Trouillebert was a French painter of the Barbizon School born in Paris in 1829 and who died in the same city in 1900. His meeting with Camille COROT (1796-1873) was to have a decisive influence on his choice of subjects and technique. Like Corot, Trouillebert fled the big cities to find inspiration in the countryside around Paris. Influenced by 17th-century Dutch painting and the work of John Constable (1776-1837), Trouillebert made landscape the main subject of his paintings, contrary to the classical tradition. Barbizon, a small hamlet near Fontainebleau, was a favorite haunt of painters like Trouillebert and Corot, but they also traveled all over France. It was in the Loire Valley, at Candes near Chinon, famous for its château and wine, that Trouillebert chose to set up a second studio in addition to his Paris one. Our painting “Barque sur les bords de Loire” is one of the many typical Loire-side landscapes that the artist was so fond of, no doubt executed from his boat Atelier, as did the later Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926). He paints as he wanders along rivers, often on small formats. The colors are dominated, as in our painting, by green, brown and yellow. The artist works in small, superimposed layers, giving the painting a refined, vaporous effect. The pigments are mixed directly on the palette to give unity to the colors, and the application of smooth brushstrokes is reinforced by an unprepared support. The use of cardboard, a medium that appeared in the second half of the 19th century, can be traced back to the desire for a medium that was practical to transport and easy to apply, as it required little preparation. This is totally in line with our artists' desire to work outdoors, right in nature. Trouillebert's technique enables him to retranscribe the light and movement that generate emotion for both artist and viewer. Our painting “barque sur les bords de Loire” (boat on the banks of the Loire) is executed in the pure Trouillebert style and is perfectly signed in the lower left-hand corner. Its composition respects the tradition of landscape representation, namely a skilful blend of proportions. He divides the canvas into two parts, the sky and water contrasting with the natural shoreline. Contrary to the classical tradition, Trouillebert, influenced by Romanticism, shows the smallness of the human presence with a hint of red against the omnipresent nature.