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Louis Valtat — Fleurs Rouges Dans Une Cruche
Louis Valtat

Fleurs Rouges Dans Une Cruche

1938

A vivid cluster of red flowers bursts from a ceramic jug in this intimate 1938 oil on panel by Louis Valtat, the composition distilled to its essential pleasures of color, form, and light. Working on a small but commanding scale, Valtat builds the blooms with confident, loaded brushwork that recalls the Fauvist energy of his earlier years while settling into the warmer, more personal register of his late period. The red of the flowers resonates against the surrounding tones with a vibrancy that feels both spontaneous and carefully calibrated, characteristic of an artist who spent decades refining his instinct for chromatic intensity. Valtat occupies a distinctive position in the history of French modernism, recognized as a key forerunner of Fauvism whose friendships with Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and the Nabis placed him at the center of the avant-garde before that movement had a name. By the late 1930s his still lifes had become a form of sustained meditation, returning repeatedly to flowers and domestic objects with an intimacy that rewards close looking. This panel, signed by the artist, carries the concentrated quality of a work made for its own sake rather than for exhibition, giving it an appealing directness. Collectors will note that this work is confirmed for inclusion in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné being prepared by the Association Les Amis de Louis Valtat, with formal notice of inclusion issued in August 2025. That documentation firmly establishes the painting within the authenticated body of the artist's work and provides lasting scholarly support for any collection. The panel is offered through Helene Bailly Marcilhac, and framing may be arranged separately to suit the collector's preference.

Medium
Oil on panel
Overall
Signed
Yes

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About this work

Louis Valtat, Fleurs Rouges Dans Une Cruche, 1938

A vivid cluster of red flowers bursts from a ceramic jug in this intimate 1938 oil on panel by Louis Valtat, the composition distilled to its essential pleasures of color, form, and light. Working on a small but commanding scale, Valtat builds the blooms with confident, loaded brushwork that recalls the Fauvist energy of his earlier years while settling into the warmer, more personal register of his late period. The red of the flowers resonates against the surrounding tones with a vibrancy that feels both spontaneous and carefully calibrated, characteristic of an artist who spent decades refining his instinct for chromatic intensity. Valtat occupies a distinctive position in the history of French modernism, recognized as a key forerunner of Fauvism whose friendships with Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and the Nabis placed him at the center of the avant-garde before that movement had a name. By the late 1930s his still lifes had become a form of sustained meditation, returning repeatedly to flowers and domestic objects with an intimacy that rewards close looking. This panel, signed by the artist, carries the concentrated quality of a work made for its own sake rather than for exhibition, giving it an appealing directness. Collectors will note that this work is confirmed for inclusion in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné being prepared by the Association Les Amis de Louis Valtat, with formal notice of inclusion issued in August 2025. That documentation firmly establishes the painting within the authenticated body of the artist's work and provides lasting scholarly support for any collection. The panel is offered through Helene Bailly Marcilhac, and framing may be arranged separately to suit the collector's preference.

Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 33 x 24.5 cm
Year
1938
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
HELENE BAILLY MARCILHAC

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Collected by

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris