Maurice Kish

Early Modernist River Landscape with Trees and Mountains WPA artist

1931

Beautiful gouache on paper, Moody atmospheric landscape in shades of black, blue green and gold by French artist, Roger Etienne Everaert Ret, signed on top right. Roger Etienne, Fren...

Albert Malet (French, 1912-1986) Hand signed lower left. Verso inscribed with the title and artist name. Dimensions: 30 X 26 X 1 in. Work Size: 24 x 20 in. Oil on board landscape painting depicting an Impressionist rural scene with a fisherman beside a gently flowing stream bordered by trees. Rendered with soft atmospheric brushwork and naturalistic coloration characteristic of the artists landscape compositions. Albert Malet French Impressionist Painter and Leader of L'École de Rouen Albert Malet (1912–1986) was a French painter of landscapes, marines, and coastal views, celebrated as one of the leading figures of L'École de Rouen (the School of Rouen), a regional Post-Impressionist movement rooted in the light-filled tradition of Norman landscape painting. Born in Bosc-le-Hard, near Rouen, Malet was deeply influenced by the work of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, but his decisive artistic inspiration came from his teacher, the celebrated Rouen painter Robert Antoine Pinchon — himself a student of the Impressionist Albert Lebourg. Malet and Pinchon developed a close friendship that endured until Pinchon's death, at which point Malet succeeded him as head of L'École de Rouen. Circle of Rouennais Painters As a central figure of the School of Rouen, Malet painted regularly alongside its other leading artists, including Narcisse Guilbert, Marcel Couchaux, Pierre Le Trividic, Narcisse Hénocque, Gaston Sébire, and Maurice Louvrier, continuing the school's dedication to atmospheric, light-driven depictions of the Normandy countryside and the Seine. His work also attracted admiration from contemporary poets, including Philippe Tournaire, Pierre Laurent, Roger Vaccaro, and Olivier Costa de Beauregard. Malet was, in turn, an influential teacher himself; his pupil Isabelle de Ganay would go on to become the modern head of L'École de Rouen, carrying the tradition Malet had inherited from Pinchon into the present day. Exhibitions and Recognition Malet exhibited widely throughout his career, showing in Rouen, Paris, Germany, Algeria, and Japan, and participating in the Salon d'Automne. He was invited by the Salon de l'École Française to exhibit at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and won a gold medal at the Salon U.F.O.L.E.A. and a bronze medal at the exhibition for Artistes Français. He held memberships in the Comité des Peintres Normands and the Société des Artistes Rouennais, was vice president of the Société des Sciences, and was named a Knight of the Palmes Académiques. Malet's paintings were shown in major galleries around the world, and the President of France presented his work on several occasions as a diplomatic gift to visiting heads of state, including U.S. President Ronald Reagan. A Renaissance Sensibility Beyond painting, Malet held wide-ranging expertise as a meteorologist, botanist, and amateur astronomer, and was knowledgeable in precious metals and prehistoric fossils — interests that informed his close, naturalist's attentiveness to light, atmosphere, and landscape. Despite his considerable achievements, Malet remained known for his modesty, consistently encouraging his students and crediting the strengths of fellow artists. A major retrospective of his work was held at the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde in Rouen in 2006. Keywords: Albert Malet, École de Rouen, School of Rouen painters, French Impressionist landscape, Robert Antoine Pinchon student, Normandy landscape painting...

Vibrant landscape of a calm river with colorful reflections winding through a lush valley of grasses and trees, with blue and purple mountains in the background, by an unknown artist...

Bright and beautifully painted spring scene, depicting river flowing through trees with a farm in the background. A windmill can be seen in the background. By early American artist A...