PIERRE EUGÈNE MONTÉZIN (French, 1874-1946)
Le Casino
Oil on canvas
24 x 28-3/4 inches (61.0 x 73.0 cm)
Signed lower left: Montezin

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF CAROLYN AND STARKE TAYLOR, DALLAS

PROVENANCE:
Galerie Hopkins-Thomas, Paris;
Private collection, Dallas, acquired from the above, 1982.

Sometime after his service in the French army during World War I, Pierre Montézin began vacationing in the South of France, adding to his oeuvre the tropical landscapes of Cannes, which he painted well into the 1940s. Already by the 1920s, Cannes was thriving as a premiere destination for wealthy tourists: at the turn of the century, railways gave way to streetcar lines and grand boulevards, such as the Promenade de la Croisette along the sea, known for its spectacular array of flowers and palm trees; private villas continued to be built in the hills, while luxurious hotels such as the Carlton sprang up along the Promenade; and in 1907, the lavish Casino Municipal at the pier Albert-Edouard became an instant landmark.

Cannes entranced numerous artists from this period, including Pierre Bonnard, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Pablo Picasso. Like these contemporaries, Montézin was drawn to the distinctive elements of the Cannes landscape: feathery palm trees, aquamarine water, and profuse, pink flowers. Yet Montézin's Cannes paintings also emphasize signs of a sophisticated urban environment: boulevard strollers wearing the latest fashions, automobiles, and new buildings like the Miramar Hotel and the Casino Municipal (in 1946, the site of the first Cannes International Film Festival).

One of Montézin's very finest Cannes paintings, Le Casino artfully combines the natural and the modern that defined the town: framing the background sea are a dense screen of palm trees and bougainvillea on the left and, on the right, a cluster of elegant patrons exiting cars to enter the casino. In the foreground, dramatic fuchsia, blue, and white flowers, echoing the bedding plants along La Croisette, spiral out from the casino's garden fountain, adding movement and energy to the composition.


Alternate Artist Spellings: "Montezin, Pierre", "Montezin, Pierre Eugène"

Lined canvas with completely stable paint film; under UV examination, no evidence of restoration. Framed Dimensions 33.5 X 38.5 Inches