Jean-Francis AUBURTIN (1866-1930) - Lot 166

Jean-Francis AUBURTIN (1866-1930) An Isadorable blowing into a conch shell Mixed media on paper. Monogrammed lower right. 62 x 95 cm (view) Jean-Francis Auburtin is influenced by both Impressionist painting and the spirit of Symbolism. His work is also inspired by Japanese prints, of which he is a fervent collector. This painter follows in the long tradition of painters like Monet, Courbet and Boudin. He wanders the paths of the customs officers and the Breton coasts, on the lookout for nuances of light and meteorological variations. Jean-Francis Auburtin was also a great decorator, receiving numerous state commissions, including a project for frescoes inspired by Antiquity for the Conseil d'État in Paris (1916). In Normandy, the artist favored untouched nature, cliffs and plunging views. He painted the same motif as Monet: the church of Saint-Valery in Varengeville-sur-Mer, depicted here in the morning. The choice of an elongated format was quite unusual at the time, and may reflect the artist's taste for Japanese art. Lots 158 and 162. For ten years (from 1902 to 1912), the painter devoted himself to dance. His models included Loïe Fuller and Isadora Duncan and her students at the École de Meudon. The artist created numerous dance scenes in a symbolist spirit, close to the aesthetic of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, of whom the painter was an admirer. These works also reflect the work of an artist fascinated by the frescoes of the Italian Renaissance. The Isadorables, young barefoot dancers wrapped in veils, came to rest in Normandy, not far from Varengeville, where the artist had made his home since 1908. They improvised dances in the glades under the direction of Isadora Ducan's brother, a vision that inspired the painter for this series of paintings on dance and music. Lots 159, 160 and 166. Jean-Françis Auburtin was strongly influenced by the Russian dancer Anna Pavlova's 1907 performance of La mort du Cygne. When he moved to Normandy, Auburtin depicted a sylvan, fairy-tale world populated by symbols inherited from the tales and legends of the Middle Ages. Swans appear in his works alongside languid nymphs, like this nude young woman by a lake. Lot 161. The bay of Talloires was one of the most popular vacation spots for artists (Albert Besnard, Paul and Maurice Chabas) as early as 1886. Auburtin produced numerous works here, from the monumental Entrevernes mountain to the iconic landscapes of the Duingt peninsula on Lake Annecy. Lot 165.