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Lot Essay
Alexis Vollon excelled at depicting scenes of his beloved River Seine, running through the heart of Fin de Siècle Paris. Vollon has found a vantage point at the very tip of the Pont-Neuf where the Seine naturally joins. With the aid of the swell from romantic chugging steamboats, discreet arrows form in the river which guide the viewer’s eye to the precisely detailed Pont des Arts.
The romantic skyline in the middle-distance is juxtaposed with the precise horizontal line of the bridge in the foreground. As such, the shapes of the skyline do not impose token motifs on the viewer, but serve to capture the essence of Paris as a whole. The muted outline of the Louvre in the right hand side of the composition is incorporated calmly with the line of trees on the river bank. Thanks to the tonality of Vollon’s palate the stone building fuses with the effervescent clouds above, and to the left, the cold metal of the recently constructed Eifel Tower simply glints through the mist.
Alexis Vollon was awarded several honours, including le Légion de Chevalier d'Honneur in 1900, and a Médaille d'Argent in the same year. He studied under his father, the renowned still life painter, Antoine Vollon. A large work depicting sumptuous fruit with shining silverware by the artist’s father is presented as lot 10 in this auction.
The romantic skyline in the middle-distance is juxtaposed with the precise horizontal line of the bridge in the foreground. As such, the shapes of the skyline do not impose token motifs on the viewer, but serve to capture the essence of Paris as a whole. The muted outline of the Louvre in the right hand side of the composition is incorporated calmly with the line of trees on the river bank. Thanks to the tonality of Vollon’s palate the stone building fuses with the effervescent clouds above, and to the left, the cold metal of the recently constructed Eifel Tower simply glints through the mist.
Alexis Vollon was awarded several honours, including le Légion de Chevalier d'Honneur in 1900, and a Médaille d'Argent in the same year. He studied under his father, the renowned still life painter, Antoine Vollon. A large work depicting sumptuous fruit with shining silverware by the artist’s father is presented as lot 10 in this auction.