Gustave Loiseau

Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (according to old label on the stretcher)
Sale: Ivoire France, Saint Etienne, November 26, 2015, lot 80
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

The medium is oil on canvas. The canvas is not lined. There is extremely minor evidence of horizontal and vertical stretcher bar marks. There is mild, minor craquelure in the sky. There is lovely regular impasto throughout the ground and cottage. There is some minor surface dirt, and the varnish has perhaps yellowed slightly. Under UV: there is no apparent inpainting. The colors are strong and the medium appears fresh: the work presents very well.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Though perhaps more strongly associated with his paintings of Normandy and Ile de France, Gustave Loiseau spent many summers in Britany. He first visited Pont-Aven in 1890 with friends and fellow painters Maxime Maufra, Henry Moret and Emile Bernard, and stayed at the famed pension Gloanec which served as a local headquarters for the Pont-Aven group, with Gauguin and Sérusier among its frequent guests. Though inspired by the modernising approach to painting pioneered by Gauguin, Loiseau, who was self-taught, was more naturally Impressionist and remained faithful to this style as he developed his own technique. 

Paul Durand-Ruel signed a contract with Loiseau in 1894, the same year that the artist met Gauguin. This relationship with the gallery provided Loiseau with the means to travel more extensively and devote himself to his art, exploring in Brittany during the summers at Saint-Herbot and Le Huelgoat in 1903, Cap Fréhel in 1905 and 1906 as well as multiple stays throughout the region thereafter.

The present work, painted during one of those first Breton summers of the 20th century, is a painterly tour de force; a prime example of Loiseau’s scintillating and dynamic response to landscape. The modernity of his approach is subtle but powerful. The field with a thatched cottage here is imbued with vibrant colors, rich texture and depth, and summer light all condensed into an effect that is neither Impressionist nor fully abstract. Catherine Puguet, the curator of the Musee de Pont-Aven's 2001 retrospective Gustave Loiseau et la Bretagne, aptly wrote in her preface to the exhibition catalogue that Loiseau's brush "translates the vibrations of air and water, with their infinite modulations" and makes his subject matter come alive.