Henri Martin (1860-1943) was a French Post-Impressionist artist who is well-known for painting the walls of the Salle de l’Assemblée générale in Paris. His work is filled with emotion, focusing on symbolism in the first half of his career and then incorporating the traditions of Pointillism (a technique of painting with small dots of colour).
Willow Gallery has a selection of paintings from Henri Martin for sale which you can browse here.
Oil on canvas, signed. Painted c.1920
Canvas size: 31 x 42.5in / 79 x 108cm
Frame size: 39 x 50.5in / 99 x 128cm
Henri Martin purchased a house in Labastide-du-Vert in 1900. He very quickly began to abandon the symbolist ideals that characterised his earlier work, and drew his inspiration from the landscapes surrounding his house there. In Marquayrol everything was a source of interest to Martin and he was very eager to capture the change in light and tones during the day and throughout the seasons. This example depicts the terrace outside his house during a rainy day.
Oil on canvas, signed.
Canvas size: 22 x 39in / 56 x 99cm
Frame size: 30 x 47in / 76 x 119cm
The bridge in Labastide-du-Vert is in the centre of the village, and was painted repeatedly by Henri Martin during his time with a house there between 1900 and his death in 1943. Often shown with the surrounding buildings and church, in this example Martin concentrates on the bridge itself and the river below it.
Oil on canvas, signed.
Canvas size: 32 x 25.5in / 81 x 65cm
Frame size: 39.5 x 33in / 100 x 84cm
This painting is one of the many that Martin made of the village surrounding his home in Labastide-du-Vert. Cyrille Martin, the grandson of the artist, writes in his certificate that in the painting “… the last house west of the village of Labastide-du-Vert on the Route de Sallis is depicted … The water is not a pond (which one might think at first glance), but a loop of the river Le Vert, just a few meters from the bridge, which was often painted by the artist. …”
Born Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin in 1860, Henri Martin was a French painter from Toulouse. After persuading his parents that his future lay in art, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, and then completed his artistic education in Paris.
Martin received solid academic training, which heavily influenced the first part of his career. After five years of submitting traditional paintings to the Salon, during which he was awarded a first-class medal, Martin accepted a grant to study in Italy where he developed a huge admiration for Pre-Renaissance and Renaissance painters such as Giotto and Raphael.
Unusually, Martin also became influenced by Seurat and other Post-Impressionist painters, which led him to briefly pursue a fusion of conservative academic imagery with the short divisionist brushwork of Seurat and his followers. This period of stylistic soul searching led to several years producing Symbolist works, culminating in the long series of mural commissions which made his name.
However, the big change in Martin’s career can be traced to his purchase of a property in Labastide-du-Vert, north of Cahors, in 1900. Very quickly, Martin abandoned the allegory and myth of Symbolist art and began to use nature as his inspiration.
Alongside a continuous stream of wall paintings, he started to work on canvases in his now habitual Post-Impressionist manner, predominantly of the countryside and villages in the south of France. These paintings are considered among his most successful works, and he continued to produce them until his death in 1943.
Willow Gallery offers a selection of original Henri Martin paintings for sale for anyone interested in investing in his celebrated work.
Willow Gallery is a well-established business, having been trading solidly for over 30 years. During this period, the gallery is proud to have been elected to both the British Antique Dealers’ Association, and LAPADA, the Association of Art and Antiques Dealers. Both Associations operate codes of practice which aim to establish and maintain confidence between members and the public and are a reflection of our integrity and expertise.
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