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Lot Essay
Jean-Pierre Klein-Montezin has confirmed the authenticity of this painting.
Pierre-Eugne Montezin was a self-taught artist whose early training was as a decorator of murals. Sur l'eau was painted shortly after his success in the Salon of 1910 where he was awarded a silver medal. Highly decorated in his lifetime, Montezin was elected a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, a Chevalier de la Lgion d'honneur, and the President of the Jury des Artistes Franais after Edouard Vuillard stepped down. The culmination of his success came in 1932 when he received a gold medal at the Salon and was given a one man show at Galerie Charpentier.
Montezin's paintings were praised for their handling of the effects of light and water, and for the virtuosity of their brushwork. The contemporary critic Vandaele wrote, "Montezin's talent has marked individuality. He better than anyone sings the joy of summer, with its luxuriant luminous foliage, its lovely gardens basking under the azure light of heaven. Color vibrations silhouette the forest, releasing its energy, causing the leafy structures to move in the breeze. His potent and harmonious formulas recall Diaz and Monet. There are incredible riches stored in that palette of his. His waters, like his skies, seem to hold and to mirror the limpidity of light. His manner is sparkling and harmonious. We find, in these canvases, the grace and the form dear to Corot" (quoted in S. Leiser, Montezin, exh. cat., Galerie Felix Vercel, New York, 1969, p. 4).
Pierre-Eugne Montezin was a self-taught artist whose early training was as a decorator of murals. Sur l'eau was painted shortly after his success in the Salon of 1910 where he was awarded a silver medal. Highly decorated in his lifetime, Montezin was elected a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, a Chevalier de la Lgion d'honneur, and the President of the Jury des Artistes Franais after Edouard Vuillard stepped down. The culmination of his success came in 1932 when he received a gold medal at the Salon and was given a one man show at Galerie Charpentier.
Montezin's paintings were praised for their handling of the effects of light and water, and for the virtuosity of their brushwork. The contemporary critic Vandaele wrote, "Montezin's talent has marked individuality. He better than anyone sings the joy of summer, with its luxuriant luminous foliage, its lovely gardens basking under the azure light of heaven. Color vibrations silhouette the forest, releasing its energy, causing the leafy structures to move in the breeze. His potent and harmonious formulas recall Diaz and Monet. There are incredible riches stored in that palette of his. His waters, like his skies, seem to hold and to mirror the limpidity of light. His manner is sparkling and harmonious. We find, in these canvases, the grace and the form dear to Corot" (quoted in S. Leiser, Montezin, exh. cat., Galerie Felix Vercel, New York, 1969, p. 4).