A bright friendship

About the exhibition “Henri Martin, Henri Le Sidaner, two fraternal talents”, visible at the Palais Lumière in Evian-les-Bains (74) until January 5, 2025.

The exhibition dedicated to the painters Henri Martin (1860-1943) and Henri Le Sidaner (1862-1939) until January 5, 2025 at the Palais Lumière in Evian-les-Bains is traveling. Which means that it arrived from Japan, and if you don't have time to go to Haute-Savoie, you can go see it next year at the Musée Baron Martin in Gray, in Haute-Saône. In any case, that's what I'll do. Because frankly, the article I just read in the summer issue of L'Oeil magazine gives me the serious impression that this is something not to be missed, in the genre of celebration of light and color, nature and introspection. Of course, even if the two Henris are important figures of French post-impressionism, their name may not resonate today as much on the modern art market as that of their contemporaries Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Georges Seurat, Camille Pissaro, Gustave Caillebotte, Odilon Redon… or Claude Monet! Nevertheless…

“Supported in their time by critics, gallery owners and the public, the two artists never stopped exhibiting together,” explains Ingrid Dubach-Lemainque in the art magazine L’Oeil. “For half a century, they were invited to all the international art exhibitions and, in 1900, they participated in the creation of the Société nouvelle de peintres et de sculpteurs which quickly became the most famous and representative fraternity of artists of the Belle Epoque. » So of course, what immediately interested me, in addition to the brightness of their paintings for sale, was that of their unwavering friendship. "A beautiful, lasting, fraternal friendship, not so common in the art world," as the journalist from L'Oeil wrote.

Whether or not one is sensitive to friendship between artists, the exhibition "Henri Martin, Henri Le Sidaner, two fraternal talents" offers its visitors a unique opportunity to discover or rediscover two masters of post-impressionism, whose works continue to captivate with their timeless beauty and visual poetry. For art lovers and the curious, this exhibition is obviously an unmissable event in the sense that it offers not only a retrospective of the works of these two great French painters, but also a reflection on the way in which light, silence and intimacy can be captured on canvas. By revealing the similarities and differences between the two artists, by "creating dialogues between Henri Martin's sunny canvases, his rich symbolist production and his studies for his large sets, and Henri Le Sidaner's paintings inspired by his study trips, the interiors of his house in Gerberoy and the Normandy coast", the immersive journey dotted with one hundred and twenty works of art, paintings and drawings, becomes a sublime art gallery offering to appreciate the uniqueness of each of the two painters and friends, while celebrating their common contribution to the history of art.

Henri Martin, born in Toulouse in 1860, trained at the Beaux-Arts in his hometown, then at the École nationale des beaux-arts in Paris, where he quickly developed a distinctive style, influenced by the pointillist techniques of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, while maintaining a personal touch marked by symbolism and a relentless quest for light. He is best known today for his idyllic landscapes and scenes of rural life bathed in soft, dreamlike light. His style is characterized by a subtle use of pointillism, with touches of vibrant color that give his works an almost mystical atmosphere. Among his emblematic works are series of paintings dedicated to the Lot region, where he owned a house in Labastide-du-Vert. These works reflect his deep attachment to nature and the tranquility of rural life.

Henri Le Sidaner was born on the shores of Mauritius in 1862… before growing up in Dunkirk, becoming a student at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and then joining the studio of the painter Alexandre Cabanel. Like Henri Martin, Le Sidaner was influenced by Impressionism, but he also developed a more personal and intimate approach. His work is often associated with an atmosphere of calm and serenity, with compositions that play on the subtle nuances of light and color. Known for his paintings depicting garden scenes, laid tables, and windows open to twilight landscapes, he is unparalleled in creating moments of silence and contemplation, often devoid of human figures, creating a sense of mystery and melancholy. Sidaner has also often been compared to symbolist artists for his ability to evoke an atmosphere rather than faithfully represent reality.

As Ingrid Dubach-Lemainque writes, "the first belongs to the luminous terroir of the South-West, the place of his summer retreats near Cahors: the second is nourished by the skies of Normandy, establishing in Gerberoy, on the edge of Picardy, an estate where he has created a marvelous flower garden. Isn't it ultimately wonderful to maintain a faithful friendship when you live on the antipodes of a country? Not to mention that artistically, the influences thus become infinite.

The two curators of the exhibition visible at the Palais Lumière, Françoise Baligand, a specialist in the work of Henri Le Sidaner, and Gérald Schurr, an art historian and art critic well known for his work on 19th and 20th century French painting, author of numerous publications on Henri Martin, therefore enjoy comparing the works of these two artists, not lacking in common themes since light, landscape and introspection run through their work just as much.

Among Henri Martin's works, the exhibition presents major pieces such as Le jardin de Labastide-du-Vert and La Cueillette des pommes, which perfectly illustrate his use of color and light to create bucolic scenes imbued with poetry. Visitors can also admire lesser-known works, which reveal the multiple facets of his art and his stylistic evolution over the years. As for the works of Henri Le Sidaner exhibited, they include famous paintings such as La Table dans le jardin and Les Volets clos, where the play of light and shadow creates an intimate and mysterious atmosphere. His works are a tribute to the ephemeral beauty of natural light, captured at different times of the day and in various environments. What a sweet immersion in perspective…

Article written by Valibri en Roulotte