FRANCIS PICABIA | VILLENEUVE-SUR-YONNE

Executed while Picabia was in his mid-twenties, Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is a superb example of the artist’s ventures into the Impressionist movement. Influenced by Impressionist masters including Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley, the young Picabia painted a number of en plein air canvases and ephemeral, atmospheric drawings in the early 20th century, including the present work. Villeneuve-sur-Yonne was founded in the 12th century to protect the boundary of the Champagne region and Picabia deftly captures the medieval roots of the city in this delicate depiction.