Louis Mathieu Verdilhan (24 November 1875 – 15 December 1928) was a French artist known especially for his paintings of the

Old Port of Marseille The Old Port of Marseille (French: ''Vieux-Port de Marseille'', ) is at the end of the Canebière, the major street of Marseille. It has been the natural harbour of the city since antiquity and is now the main popular place in Marseille. It becam ...

. He was born in

Saint-Gilles-du-Gard Saint-Gilles (; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Sant Geli''; ) or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in southern France. It is the second most populous commune in the Nîmes metr ...

. His family moved to the

Chartreux The Chartreux is a rare breed of cat from France, and is recognised by a number of registries around the world. The Chartreux is large and muscular (called ''cobby'') with relatively short, fine-boned limbs, and very fast reflexes. They are known ...

district in Marseille in 1877. Born into a poor family, he apprenticed to a house painter in 1890 but began drawing with the support of the Marseille artist

Eugène Giraud Pierre François Eugène Giraud (August 8, 1806 – December 28, 1881) was a French painter and engraver. In 1867 he painted one of the best known portraits of writer Gustave Flaubert, now housed at the Palace of Versailles. He also completed a ...

. In 1895, he established a studio that he kept for his entire life, at No. 12 rue Fort-Notre-Dame. In 1898, he traveled for the first time to Paris and worked with the decorator Adrien Karbowsky to produce part of the ornamentation of the ''Salon du bois'' of the decorative arts pavilion for the 1900 World's Fair. He returned to Marseille in 1900. In 1902, he lost his left eye in an accident. His artistic career began in 1902 with an exhibition at Galeries Braun in Marseille and then, in 1905, an exhibition at the Palace of Architects at the Avenue du Prado. He exhibited in Paris in 1906 at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

. His early works were painted in a style reminiscent of

Monticelli Monticelli may refer to: Places in Italy ;Municipalities (''comuni'') * Monticelli Brusati, in the Province of Brescia * Monticelli d'Ongina, in the Province of Piacenza * Monticelli Pavese, in the Province of Pavia * Monte San Biagio, in the ...

and

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

. From 1907 to 1913 his work was influenced by

Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

and

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

. From 1908 he participated regularly in the Salon d'Automne. In 1909, he spent six months in Versailles where he made many paintings. He occupied from 1910 to 1914 a workshop at No. 12 quay of Rive Neuve. Mobilized in Toulon during the First World War, Verdilhan met

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (; 27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, bu ...

and was influenced by his work. He also met

André Suarès André Suarès, born Isaac Félix SuarèsAndré Suarès
bnf.fr (12 June 1868,

and

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

. After the war, he resided successively in Aix-en-Provence, Cassis and Toulon. On 16 March 1919, he married Hélène Casile, the younger daughter of painter Alfred Casile. He exhibited in New York at the gallery Kraushaar. The paintings he made between 1920 and 1926 are characterized by light, flat colors and harmonious forms bounded by simplified outlines.Chol et al., p. 68. In 1925 he painted a mural for the Provence pavilion of l'Exposition universelle. In 1926 he painted a decoration for the Opéra de Marseille: this painting represents the festival of 14 July in Marseille and was much criticized during the inauguration of the opera. His palette darkened in the works of his final years. He died of laryngeal cancer on 15 December 1928 in Marseilles. Verdilhan's brother was the painter and sculptor

André Alexandre Verdilhan André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

(1881–1963).

Gallery

File:Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan - Paysage.jpg, ''Paysage - Aix-en-Provence'', ca. 1902–1907,

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, Musée d'Art File:Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan-Littoral Varois.jpg, ''Littoral Varois'', ca. 1907 File:Verdilhan - Le bar des colonies à Toulon.jpg, ''Le bar des colonies à Toulon'', ca. 1910–1915 File:Louis Mathieu Verdilhan Le Port des Martigues.jpg, ''Le Port de Martigues'', ca. 1913–1925 File:Louis Mathieu Verdilhan Le vieux-port de Marseille, 1905.jpg, ''Le vieux-port de Marseille'' File:Louis Mathieu Verdilhan Paysage, maison et cyprès.jpg, ''Paysage, maison et cyprès'' File:Verdilhan Louis-Mathieu - Le Grand Pavois dans le port de Marseille.jpg, ''Le Grand Pavois dans le port de Marseille'' File:Verdilhan-Vieux port de Marseille.jpg, ''Vieux port de Marseille'', 1927

Notes

References

*Chol, Daniel, Jean Chol, Huguette Lasalle, and Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan (1991). ''Louis-Mathieu Verdilhan, Peintre de Marseille''. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud. . *Chol, Daniel (2005). ''Louis Mathieu Verdilhan (1875-1928), carillonneur de couleurs, architecte de la forme''. Ediz. Chol. . *Alauzen, André-Laurent-Noet (2006). ''Dictionnaire des peintres et sculpteurs de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur''. Marseille: Ediz. Jeanne Laffitte. . *Soubiran, Jean-Roger (1987). ''La peinture en Provence dans les collections du Musée de Toulon du XVIIe au début du XXe siècle''. Toulon: Musée de Toulon. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Verdilhan, Louis Mathieu 1875 births 1928 deaths 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters Painters from Marseille