GASTON LA TOUCHE (1854-1913) VIEW OF THE VESTIBULE... Lot 1

GASTON LA TOUCHE (1854-1913) VIEW OF THE VESTIBULE OF THE QUEEN'S STAIRCASE, VERSAILLES Oil on panel Signed lower right Marked on the back 'Gaston La Touche' and 'Escalier de marbre/Versailles Oil on panel; signed lower right; annotated 'Gaston La Touche' and 'Escalier de marbre/Versailles' on the reverse 14,9 X 14,9 CM - 5 7/8 X 5 7/8 IN. Mrs Selina Baring Maclennan and Mr Roy Brindley will include this work in the Gaston La Touche catalogue raisonné currently in preparation. PROVENANCE Private collection, France. "Gaston La Touche was born in Saint-Cloud in 1854 and remained faithful to the town where he occupied a studio, built in his property at 31 rue Dailly, until his death in 1913. A self-taught artist (his parents owned a small grocery store in Saint-Cloud), he learned to draw and paint on his own; Edouard Dantan gave him some drawing lessons. Gaston La Touche gets closer to the artists of the 'New Athens' and becomes a friend of Edouard Manet. He also befriended Emile Zola, whose L'Assommoir he illustrated. Around 1890, he met Felix Bracquemond whom he considered his true master. He then adopted the antics, the fêtes galantes and other subjects 'à la Watteau' inspired by the 18th century. In his palette, clear, almost opalescent tones dominate, which made him successful and earned him official awards at the Salon des Artistes français." See https://www.musee-saintcloud.fr/gaston-la-touche-1854-1913.