Léon Mage (1832-1894) Breton peasant resting in the sun

Henri-Léon MAGE (Nesle, 1832 - Brest, 1894)
Breton peasant resting in the sun
Pastel
H. 29 cm ; L. 40 cm
Signed lower center

Born in Picardy, Mage first studied with Joseph Fusillier at the Amiens drawing school, where he became friends with Jules Lefebvre. In the early 1850s, Fusillier enabled them to enroll in Léon Cogniet's workshop at the Beaux-Arts in Paris.


We don't know when he discovered Brittany, but it became his adopted home, and he taught at the Brest drawing school. The town's museum held two paintings, which were destroyed during the Second World War. Mage exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1872, 1874, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1887 and 1893, mainly with watercolors on Breton subjects, and market scenes in particular.
In the provinces, he took part in exhibitions in Rouen (1882), Amiens (1883, where he won a silver medal, and probably 1884), Brest (1884 and 1891), Nantes and Rennes (1875, 1887, where he won a medal). Physical infirmities forced him to get down almost on his knees to work.
Mage was also a close friend of Théodule Ribot (1823-1891), who presented his portrait at the 1890 Salon.


Our drawing, whose spirit and style perhaps owe something to Ribot's realism and intimism, is further proof that obscure artists can produce wonderful works.