This beautiful late 19th-century oil painting by French artist Maximilien Mayeur (1840-1889) depicts a family resting adjacent to a country track within a verdant forest. Mayeur was an adept, Salon-exhibited, painter and etcher of landscapes.
Four figures rest under a leafy canopy, with the youngest, a girl dressed in pale blue, looking towards the eldest - perhaps her grandfather. Here, amid the luscious foliage, sunlight amplifies the picturesque qualities of nature. Where the distant view culminates in gentle tints, topped by a ponderous array of passing clouds. The vertical composition seeks to emphasise the majesty of the trees.
Born in Paris, Maximilien Mayeur was an understated artist with a deep affection for the natural world. He conducted his work with humility, without seeking peer validation, and as such, he’s relatively unknown, despite exhibiting at the Salon for 20 years. His talents are unsung.
According to the archives, he initially trained under ‘Véron’, which is possibly the landscape painter Alexandre René Véron (1826-1897) who worked extensively in the Forest of Fontainebleau. This was followed by a spell studying with Edmond Charles Joseph Yon (1836-1907) and Henri Saintin (1846-1899).
Saintin was from Ivry-sur-Seine, outside Paris, and the two became close friends, undertaking numerous study trips, including to Brittany in the northwest. One can imagine the pair pitching easels and tackling the same view, comparing notes, before heading to a nearby auberge. It’s likely they worked predominantly ‘en plein air’ and their works are reminiscent of the earlier ‘Barbizon School’ painters, such as Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867).
In 1863, Mayeur debuted at the Paris Salon, where he would continue to show works for the rest of his relatively short life. He married Adélaïde Catherine Marguerite Amie in 1872 and continued to tour with Henri Saintin until his last. L'Artiste described him as a “gentle dreamer of morning mists and vaporous evenings”.
He’s represented at the British Museum.
Signed in the lower left and held within a later frame.
Learn more about Maximilien Mayeur in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 32½” x 40” / 83cm x 102cm
Year of creation: c. 1880
Labels & Inscriptions: Canvas stencil on reverse relating to the Parisian supplier of artist’s materials, ‘A. Tardif’ of ‘5 Rue du Dragon’.
Provenance: Atlantis Gallery, Paris / Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Craquelure in areas. The paint layer is stable. Frame in excellent condition.
Our reference: BRV2046
