Joseph Lépine (1867–1943) – Vase of Lilacs in a Landscape of Provence

Joseph LÉPINE (Rochefort 1867 – Paris 1943)
Vase with a Bouquet of Lilacs before a Landscape
Oil on heavy cardboard mounted on a cross-braced stretcher
H. 72 cm; W. 86 cm
Monogrammed lower left. Signed lower right
Circa 1923
Joseph Lépine soon settled in Bordeaux, where he studied under Louis-Alexandre Cabié, a well-known landscape painter in the region and the master of numerous artists of the early 20th century. Despite his master’s warnings, he wished to confront the modernity of late 19th century Paris and discover the Impressionist and even already Post-Impressionist trends. There he became a pupil of the Neoclassical painters Courtois and Girardot, both former students of the great Jean-Léon Gérôme.
From 1897 onward, he exhibited at the Salon, where he presented landscapes of Provence. In 1905, he became a member of the Société des Artistes Indépendants, the same year that the Fauves Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck participated in and gained recognition at the Salon d’Automne. A State purchase at the 1908 Salon des Indépendants, Vieille boutique, now preserved at the Musée de Menton, marked the official launch of his career. That same year, he exhibited in London at the Royal Albert Hall following an invitation from the Allied Artists’ Association, demonstrating a certain recognition of the painter within the international art scene. In Paris, the artist met a number of well-known painters of the period in the Montmartre and Montparnasse districts, notably Matisse and Signac.
His approach to painting was based notably on his treatment of material, light, and color, whose juxtapositions create a play of saturation and composition through visible reserves. After the First World War, Lépine returned more frequently to his native region, where he painted landscapes around Bordeaux and followed the course of the Dordogne up to the charming landscapes of the lower Corrèze: Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Argentat, as well as the Lot, with the built-up escarpments of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.
The City of Bordeaux and the French State acquired two of his works depicting a landscape near Verdelais and a view of the Church of Saint-Michel in Bordeaux in 1939 and 1941.
Today considered a very important figure in Bordeaux painting and the only “Post-Impressionist” of the Gironde School, he also holds a significant place on the national level. A retrospective exhibition was devoted to him at the Musée d’Eysines in 2021.
The large oil painting we present is believed to have been executed in Provence circa 1923. Another work depicting the same subject and slightly larger in size is known to the Lépine specialist, Dr. Philippe Greig, and its dating appears precise.
This vase filled with a bouquet of lilacs is placed on a table on a terrace overlooking a wooded landscape, from which emerges the red roof of a house.