René Sautin (1881-1968) - La Seine au Val Saint Martin

\Artist: René Sautin (1881-1968)
Technique: Watercolour\Signature: Hand signed\Dimensions: 22_32_0_cm
René Sautin (1881-1968) “La Seine au Val Saint Martin” Watercolour and ink on paper Size: 22 x 32 cm (without the frame) Signed on the bottom right Circa: 1930 Provenance: - Galerie Tuffier, Les Andelys In good state of preservation Framed, wild cherry frame (Dimensions with frame: 38 x 49 cm) Work sold with invoice and certificate of authenticity. The painting will be listed in the catalogue raisonné of the artist's work currently in preparation. Fast and careful shipping with insurance. René Sautin (1881-1968) was born in Montfort-sur-Risle in 1881. He attended the Beaux-Arts of Rouen in the painting studio of painter P. Zacharie, then in Paris in the Ferrier studio where he was mentored by Albert Lebourg, born in the same village. He then joined the Independents with Signac and Luce. He married Marthe in 1910, settled in Les Andelys in 1911 and became friends with the Pissarro sons, Signac, Luce, Derain, Guillaumin, Lebasque, Bigot and Gernez, who gathered in Les Andelys to paint on the banks of the Seine. Imbued with his Norman roots, René Sautin was essentially a landscape artist. Circa 1923, he abandoned Impressionist painting for a quiet and well-reasoned fauvism. The painter, having found balance in his means of expression from 1925, reached his plenitude in the 50s. He is one of the few Norman painters to describe these landscapes in such a personal way by their power, a certain controlled violence, a strong sensitivity. A proud, distinguished, highly educated man, he suffered greatly from not being understood during his lifetime and regretted this isolation: ‘My life has often been hard and difficult. . . ’ René Sautin was born in the same village as famous painter Albert Lebourg, in Montfort-sur-Risle. But he spent most of his life in Les Andelys in France. After primary and secondary studies in Montfort-sur-Risle and Pont-Audemer, René Sautin immediately moved on to drawing: ‘My studies completed, with a classical background, I entered the School of Fine Arts in Rouen in the studio of painter Philippe Zacharie, a distinguished master for whom drawing was a precious metal. Then I went to Paris where I spent a year in the Ferrier workshop. . . and I went into painting with some good friends, listening to the advice of painter Albert Lebourg. ’ René Sautin left the capital in 1911 to settle in Les Andelys with his wife Marthe. The first period of his work was greatly influenced by Albert Lebourg, but soon his temperament attracted him to Fauve painting with calm and well-reasoned colours. He himself said of his painting: "Painting, in essence, is spreading material, not rubbing. From there I paint with thick material, without rubbing, each stroke being final. I never come back to the tone once the material is down. This gives great power to my painting and a lot of character. What the heck! Nature is asserted. What makes the beauty of a tone is its bold and rich colour. The whole art of painting lies in doing or interpreting what one feels, what one sees, everything else is snobbery. Painting is to externalize one's temperament. It is an interpretation of one’s thinking that is passed on to others. ’ The period of World War II deeply upset the artist, because undoubtedly René Sautin was a true lover of Les Andelys. He never ceased to paint the Seine, the quays of the Petit-Andely and the Gaillard castle. He very often painted in the same places, but each time he created a new work. Then, on 8th June 1940, the Germans bombed the city of Les Andelys. We then discover that ninety percent of the city had been destroyed. Churches were spared as well as a few houses, but the entire city centre had disappeared under the shelling of explosive and incendiary bombs. During this period, artists lost the desire to paint. Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the bombings, René Sautin made a series of watercolours, as if he wished to preserve a testimony, for future generations, of the apocalyptic vision of the city. From then on, his work changed. His drawing was more marked, surrounded with black. On the Seine, the barges have the tricolour bulwark. In the 50s, René Sautin continued this tendency to emphasize his drawing style. Unfortunately, he was gradually losing his sight. The artist compensates for his loss of vision with more and more violent and vivid colours. He stopped painting for good in 1964, four years before his death