GUILLAUMIN, ARMANDParis 1841 - 1927


Title: Morning Atmosphere on the Banks of the Seine near Samois.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Mounting: Relined.
Measurement: 43.5 x 61cm.
Notation: Signed lower right: "Guillaumin".
Frame: Framed.
Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The luminous reflections of moving water are the main subject of many Impressionist works. No other subject reveals itself to painters as shimmering and lively as the moving current of a river or the sometimes gentle, sometimes violently surging waves of the sea, which reflect the light of the sky and the colours of the surroundings at any time of day. Ideally situated between the river and the forest, Samois-sur-Seine, south of Paris, attracted a number of Impressionist painters in the 19th century, who drew strength and inspiration from the banks of the river. Armand Guillaumin visited the village several times and created around a dozen paintings here, preferably in the morning hours. Like his colleagues Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Paul Signac, Guillaumin was also fascinated by the play of light on the water. For his paintings, the artist set up his easel on the banks of the Seine along a path lined with poplars. The ideal place to capture the changing light of the sky in the Ile-de-France on the surface of the water. He repeats the almost identical motif here several times, as is typical of the serial work of the Impressionists, who were interested in moods: from the viewer's point of view, one looks from the centre of the river to a small group of houses on the right and to bushes and trees on the left. Guillaumin applies loose brushstrokes to a light-coloured ground, layering soft shades of pink, violet, and blue next to bright nuances of blue and green and a few dabs of red. He focused on the contrast of colours, whose strong use was initially criticised, but later made Guillaumin an inspiration for Fauvism. His painting is considered innovative and trend-setting for the development of modern painting.