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Louis Valtat — Le cygne sur le lac au Bois de Boulogne
Louis Valtat

Le cygne sur le lac au Bois de Boulogne

1905

Painted in 1905 at the height of Louis Valtat's most adventurous period, Le cygne sur le lac au Bois de Boulogne captures a solitary swan drifting across the ornamental lake of Paris's celebrated park with a chromatic boldness that places the work firmly within the Fauvist current then transforming French painting. Valtat builds the composition through short, confident strokes of unmixed color, setting vivid blues and greens against warmer passages of light reflected on the water's surface. The result is a picture that vibrates with atmospheric energy while retaining an intimate quietness suited to its subject, demonstrating the artist's rare ability to reconcile decorative intensity with genuine poetic feeling. Valtat occupies a singular position in the history of early twentieth-century painting. A close associate of Renoir and a recognized forerunner of the Fauves, he arrived at his saturated palette and liberated brushwork independently, years before the movement coalesced around Matisse and Derain at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. This canvas, dated to that same pivotal year, reflects a mature confidence in handling light and color that had been developing since his time in the south of France and along the Mediterranean coast. The Bois de Boulogne provided him with a subject familiar to Parisian leisure painting, yet Valtat transforms what might have been a conventional park scene into something altogether more charged and modern. At 46 by 55 centimeters, the work is an ideal cabinet-scale picture, signed by the artist and in strong condition. It is currently offered through Bailly Gallery, an institution with a well-established record in Post-Impressionist and early modern works. For collectors seeking a painting that bridges the historical distance between Impressionism and Fauvism with both scholarly credibility and immediate visual pleasure, this Valtat represents an exceptional opportunity.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Overall
Signed
Yes
Location
BAILLY GALLERY, Paris

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About this work

Louis Valtat, Le cygne sur le lac au Bois de Boulogne, 1905

Painted in 1905 at the height of Louis Valtat's most adventurous period, Le cygne sur le lac au Bois de Boulogne captures a solitary swan drifting across the ornamental lake of Paris's celebrated park with a chromatic boldness that places the work firmly within the Fauvist current then transforming French painting. Valtat builds the composition through short, confident strokes of unmixed color, setting vivid blues and greens against warmer passages of light reflected on the water's surface. The result is a picture that vibrates with atmospheric energy while retaining an intimate quietness suited to its subject, demonstrating the artist's rare ability to reconcile decorative intensity with genuine poetic feeling. Valtat occupies a singular position in the history of early twentieth-century painting. A close associate of Renoir and a recognized forerunner of the Fauves, he arrived at his saturated palette and liberated brushwork independently, years before the movement coalesced around Matisse and Derain at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. This canvas, dated to that same pivotal year, reflects a mature confidence in handling light and color that had been developing since his time in the south of France and along the Mediterranean coast. The Bois de Boulogne provided him with a subject familiar to Parisian leisure painting, yet Valtat transforms what might have been a conventional park scene into something altogether more charged and modern. At 46 by 55 centimeters, the work is an ideal cabinet-scale picture, signed by the artist and in strong condition. It is currently offered through Bailly Gallery, an institution with a well-established record in Post-Impressionist and early modern works. For collectors seeking a painting that bridges the historical distance between Impressionism and Fauvism with both scholarly credibility and immediate visual pleasure, this Valtat represents an exceptional opportunity.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 46 x 55 cm
Year
1905
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
BAILLY GALLERY, Paris

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Collected by

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris