Georges d'Espagnat

Born in Melun in 1870 Georges D’Espagnat shunned the traditional art establishments of his day claiming to have spent only four hours at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts and a mere half an hour at the Ecole des Art Decoratifs, preferring instead to study works in the Louvre and attending classes at the free Academy.

Influenced by the French Impressionists and a close friend of Renoir, Signac, Denis, Bonnard and Vuillard, D’Espagnat exhibited at the Salon des Refusés in 1891, the Salon des Indépendants in 1892, and in the Impressionist and Symbolist exhibitions held at Le Barc de Bonteville in 1894 and 1895. 

These Impressionist and Symbolist beginnings are manifested in the present work in its harmonious deployment of colour and subtle application of paint.  Stimulated by the beauty of his surroundings, this work is a charming example of a theme integral of D’Espagnat’s œuvre, one which came to fruition after the First World War in the landscape surrounding his house at Quercy.