Colnaghi gallery is delighted to announce its representation of the largest collection of paintings by the French artist Edouard Athénosy (1859-1934) in existence, with an inaugural online exhibition of his fine miniature landscapes, to take place from the 22 March 2021.
Athénosy was born in in 1859, in the mountainous and beautiful Saumane de Vaucluse region of southeastern France. This rocky and wild landscape had a deep impact upon Athénosy’s work, who depicted this terrain time and again, dominated by its oaks and blossoming shrubs.
Like his father, he began a career in public service, as an administrator in the local government of Avignon, working his way up to the head of the office of Préfet Louvel. Throughout his life, painting becomes his secret language and escape from this life of work and dutiful toil.
In 1878, Athénosy joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Fine Arts School of Avignon, under the direction of Pierre Grivolas. His classmates and friends included the artists Claude Firmin, Roux-Renard, François Gauthier, amongst others. The quality of the training he received at the Beaux-Arts, his intense study from life and the antique, resulted in a precise and highly observant technique.
The recent discovery of tools and photographs of the artist, hidden for a hundred years in the false bottom of a drawer in his house in Les Angles, allow us to understand his practice. He worked en plein air with a palette, brushes, recently invented tubes of paint, and a frame which enabled him to go out and paint amongst nature. Most of the time he worked with a particular reduced and unchangingly small canvas size, which didn’t go above 7’’x 9.5’’. He wore a striking felt hat on his head, a black three-piece suit, and carried his paint box on his belt, and the box containing the small pictures attached to a loop.
The use of colour in Athénosy’s landscapes is particularly unique and sets them apart from his contemporaries. Unusually, the vast majority of his work uses oxide paints, which were not particularly practical, tending to ‘bleed’ on other colours. Brush cleaning between coats was also made difficult. We can see there a desire to move off the beaten track. His works are certainly miniature, but their technical prowess is remarkable.
Colnaghi is delighted to work with the European art consultancy, Ars Belga on this project, acknowledging the work of collector Guillaume Liffran, who rediscovered the artist in France, and has been working to rebuild his reputation for a number of years. In time, a committee will be established under his leadership, which will work to disseminate further research, archives, and the appreciation of Edouard Athénosy’s work.
Says Colnaghi CEO Victoria Golembiovskaya, ‘We are delighted to bring this under-recognised artist to greater public recognition, highlighting his own highly individual response to nature and unique place alongside the Impressionists. With three galleries, Colnaghi is well placed to stage presentations of artists work, bringing them to new audiences. Additionally, our relationships with major collections both public and private, allows us to place important paintings.’
Images from the top: Edouard Athénosy, The Mont Ventoux behind the brooms, 1915, Les Angles, France, oil on board, 9 x 18 cm, 3 1/2 x 7 1/8 in; The falling tree, 1914, Les Angles, France, Oil on board, 9 x 18 cm, 3 1/2 x 7 1/8 in & Inspired by Corot, 1928, Candau, Les Angles, France, oil on board, 12 x 18 cm, 4 3/4 x 7 1/8 in © Colnaghi
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