VILLON Eugene, 1879-1951 Self-portrait with brushes,... Lot 1

VILLON Eugene, 1879-1951 Self-portrait with brushes, circa 1940 oil on isorel, signed lower left with a trace of date 24,5 x 34 cm On the back, a marouflaged canvas representing a landscape sketch. A gifted student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nice, Eugène Villon received his first commission at the age of sixteen for the grand theater in Geneva. In 1900 he moved to Lyon where he became known and exhibited regularly at the Société Lyonnaise des Beaux-Arts, of which he was a member from 1913 to 1945, as well as at the Société des Artistes Français in Paris. He was made a knight of the Legion of Honor in 1937. Mainly a landscape painter, he nourished his inspiration by traveling in France, Europe and the Maghreb. He brought back works in which he succeeded in retranscribing the light and atmosphere of the places represented, be it Brittany, Holland, Venice or North Africa. His art is expressed as much in his oil paintings as in his drawings and watercolors, and he is one of the few artists to master all techniques. He co-founded the Société des Aquarellistes Lyonnais in 1934 with Antoine Barbier. These works come directly from the artist's studio and illustrate, both by the diversity of techniques and subjects, the extent of Eugène Villon's talent.