Pierre Eugène Montezin, 1874 Paris – 1946 Moëlan-sur-Mer... Lot n° 1042

STILL LIFE WITH JAPANESE LIDDED VASE Oil on wood. 65 x 54 cm. Signed "Montezin" lower right. Framed in fabric-covered passepartout. Against a uniform grey background, a still life created with impressionist technique, rapid brushstrokes, with saturated and rich colors that evoke the subject depicted. On a table of dark brocade stands a white plate with fruit, accompanied on the right and left by vases of flowers, a small and low and a tall and slender center of the composition dominated by a large blue jar with a lid. Despite the rapid brushwork, the well-positioned brushstrokes depict Fo dogs and geishas, details that underline the interest in Asian art typical of the end of the 19th century. Pierre-Eugène Montezin was an artist before his time. His modern touch did not correspond to what the academy of the time considered respectable. The talented autodidact and nature lover developed an exceptional talent for genre and landscape painting thanks to his keen powers of observation. (1401477) (19)