Paul PERREAUT (1908-1979) was born in a family of artists of Tournus (Burgundy) as well as his grandfather, who was a curator at the Greuze museum. Self-taught, he began painting in the family workshop at a very young age using the materials at his disposal and encouraged by his father's painter friends such as Mathivet and Bourdon. As an adult, he ran a home/personal care and framing business for many years before devoting himself fully to painting.
Over the years, he excelled in all techniques, but focused mainly on oil painting and drawing, which he mastered to perfection. But Paul Perreaut's particular pleasure was painting at the scene; that is, in the open air in the presence of the landscapes he reproduced, influencing his technique. He preferred cardboard over canvas; the cardboard panel is indeed a lighter medium, onto which he often let the colour come through and dry faster, supreme advantage for his works with oils.
He participated in the Salon of French Artists in Paris and his art was awarded in 1978 at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, where he received the gold medal. He also exhibited in France and Germany, the United States, Switzerland and Belgium. The French State also granted him the title of Officier des Palmes Académiques.
This painting depicts rowing boats on the Étang des Launes (large salt-water marsh) near Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue Nature Park between Montpellier and Marseille. It is signed and dated in the lower right corner. On the back, a handwritten inscription referring to the location represented.
Sources: Dani Gallorini, Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire ; Greuze Museum.
Artist: Paul Perreaut (1908-1979).
Signed and dated in lower right corner: Paul Perreaut, 73.
Medium: Mixed technique (oil/acrylic) on fibre board.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions : 42 x 50 cm. / 16 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.
Frame: 61 x 71 cm. / 24 x 28 in. Bronze-finish wood and glass. Very good condition.
Origin: France.