FRIESZ, OTHON (1879-1949)

*PRICE ON APPLICATION*
 
“Port Of Toulon” (1936)
Oil on panel
18 x 23cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Friesz is a famous French Modernist, and founder of the Fauves. He studied at School of Fine Arts in Le Havre, where he met Raoul Dufy & Georges Braque. In 1898, Friesz won a scholarship that allowed him to pursue his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Paris until 1903 (atelier Bonnat). There he befriended Matisse, Rouault, Marquet, Vlaminck, Derain. He painted landscapes in the tradition of Impressionism, inspired by Pissarro and Guillaumin. He exhibited in groups exhibitions (Salon des Indépendants, Salon d'Automne). His first solo exhibition was held in Paris in 1904. He joined the Fauvist movement at the end of the year 1905. He simplified his forms and painted canvases with clear and pure colors (ports, portraits, landscapes of southern France). In 1912 he opened a studio in Paris where he taught painting, but this venture was interrupted by war. In 1913, he participated in the Armory Show in New York. In 1915, he painted a series of expressive paintings inspired by the war. Throughout the course of the inter-war years, Friesz continued to explore, in his classical style, the themes that are dear to him: nudity, landscape, female figure, still life, flowers and portraits. From 1911 to 1938, Friesz successively travelled to Portugal, Belgium, Italy and the United States. This stunning seascape was completed late in his painting career and includes all the hallmarks of this great artist, covering one of his favourite subjects.