Description

An intimism painter, who transcribes the warmth of the family space through lines and colours, Francisc Gall will often turn to his own children - Marie-Lize, Jean-François and Elisabeth-Anne, or to his wife, Eugenie, when he starts a new work. He learns and masters body language and the language of nature (trees, flowers, sky or water) and chooses to illustrate themes such as women, nature or the city. Sometimes, he would represent social subjects - we look into the bread crisis of 1947, which the artist will transform into a pictorial subject that will be awarded at the Salon des Artistes Français. Meetings with famous galleries: Durand-Ruel or Bernheim-Jeune (galleries where Dimitrie Berea also exhibited) will facilitate his work begin introduced to the foreign audiences in Europe. His work will, after this moment, begin to be appreciated even overseas. The painter will adopt a strong palette, sometimes oversaturated, in which contrasts dominate the canvas. Landscapes, but also character compositions, will now be true chromatic explosions in which light is incorporated directly into colour. We will notice that the economy of his work is full of landscapes of Quercy or Martel, his wife's hometown. On holidays with his family, Francisc Gall used all the materials at hand, so that he would even decorate stones with his paintings (in Brittany), while in Pont-Aven he would fall in love with the work of Paul Gauguin. In this work, the artist places his wife, Eugenie, in the foreground. The preference for plein-air and spontaneous, fragmented brushstrokes betray an appetite for impressionism. Shown in a long, pale pink dress with a white collar and a black belt around her waist, Francisc Gall's leading lady poses for him in the middle of nature, sitting on a blue blanket on the grass. The reflections of the water and the straw hat tied with a red scarf hint at the serene atmosphere and warmth of the summer day. The statuesque pose and the gazing into the distance show Eugenie in a state of reverie, deep in thought. The works dedicated to his wife are often true demonstrations of plein-air. Covered in long dresses or ankle-length skirts and collared shirts, Eugenie appears to the public sitting on the grass at a picnic, wearing hats almost every time, holding her baby in her arms or a parasol on the beach. Keeping with the fashion of the time, Gall's muse blends in with the represented space and blends perfectly into the Parisian atmosphere. With a deep understanding of her husband's work, she will often agree to pose for him and support his artistic endeavours.

Biography

FLAMENT, Andre, 'F. Gall', Editions Vision sur les Arts, Paris.

Sizing

Width 62, Height 51, Sizing info 51 × 62 cm

Signature

signed bottom right, in red, 'F. Gall'

Dating

the 50s

Medium

oil on canvas

Location

Artmark românia