Gaston La Touche (1854-1913) - Boat trip under the bridge, Saint Cloud

Boat trip under the bridge, Saint Cloud, 1909
Oil on panel signed lower right
H. 75.5 x W. 79.9 cm (with frame: H. 96.3 x W. 95.5 cm)

This work is preparatory to the painting "The Poet", now kept by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It has also been exhibited in an important retrospective:

LAST IMPRESSIONNISTS, THE TIME OF INTIMACY (Sept. 2018 - Sept. 2019) Exhibition in museums: Singer Laren (Pays bas), Palais Lumière in Evian,
Musée des beaux-arts in Quimper, Musée départemental breton in Quimper.
This painting is reproduced in the catalog of the travelling exhibition on page 324.

Gaston de La Touche (known as Gaston La Touche) was born on October 29, 1854 in Saint-Cloud. From an early age, Gaston La Touche showed an exceptional aptitude for drawing. At the beginning of his career he is strongly influenced by the work of Edouard Manet who will give him precious advice.

In 1890, his meeting with Félix Bracquemond was decisive: from that date on, La Touche's chromatic palette turned towards shimmering colors. That same year marks the inauguration of the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts at the Palais de l'Industrie in Paris under the aegis of Meissonier (1815-1891) and Bracquemond (1833-1914).

In official circles, Gaston La Touche's success was immense. From 1883, he became a member of the French Artists. Quickly, he also became a member of the National Society of Fine Arts. He obtains medals in 1884, in 1888, the bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1889, and finally a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1900.

This exceptional colorist perfectly masters the techniques of oil painting, watercolor and pastel. His touch is similar to that of impressionism, but his subjects are reminiscent of the gallant scenes of the eighteenth century inspired, in particular, by the work of Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). He creates dreamlike and vaporous atmospheres giving a symbolist sensibility to his paintings. The artist created decorative panels for the town hall of Saint-Cloud, the Ministry of Justice in Paris, and Edmond de Rostand's Villa Arnagua in Cambo-les-Bains.

FIVE OF HIS WORKS ARE TODAY IN THE MUSEE D'ORSAY IN PARIS.

OUR PAINTING IS A PREPARATORY OIL FOR THE MONUMENTAL WORK ENTITLED "LE POETE", DATED 1910, AND KEPT AT THE MUSEE D'ORSAY IN PARIS.

Some Museums with works by Gaston Latouche:
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Petit Palais ...
The Art Institute of Chicago
Palace of Versailles
Marseille, Museum of Fine Arts
Rouen, Museum of Fine Arts
Beauvais, MUDO
…