Boulevard de la Madeleine
Oil on canvas
18 x 21 1/2 inches (45 x 53.75 centimeters)
Signed lower left: Antoine Blanchard
$15,000.00
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Provenance: Private Collection, California
Anderson Galleries Inc., California
Expertise:
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Antoine Blanchard dated October 8th, 1975.
Condition:
Excellent.
Biography:
Antoine Blanchard was born in France in a small village near the banks of the Loire. He displayed an artistic flair early in life. In an effort to promote this talent his parents sent him to Blois for drawing lessons. He continued his training in Rennes at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts. By 1932 he left Rennes and traveled to Paris to study. He enrolled at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and after a few years he entered the competition for the Prix de Rome. It was in Paris that he developed a love for the city and its street life.
In Boulevard des Capucines & Cafe de la Paix a Paris, Blanchard depicted a scene from one of Paris's most historic boulevards and cafes. Located in the heart of Paris and in close proximity to the Opera Garnier, the Cafe de la Paix quickly rose under the Second Empire as a popular destination and meeting place for artists, writers, and businessmen; intellectuals such as Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway often frequented the cafe. It is said that if one sits at this cafe, one is bound to run into a friend or an acquaintance as the cafe is so well-known.
Continuing in the tradition of illustrating glimpses of ordinary life with iconic Parisian backdrops, Blanchard featured another Parisian landmark in Boulevard de la Madeleine. Painted in the distance of Boulevard de la Madeleine is the church which it is named after Eglise de la Madeleine. Originally designed as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army, the building eventually became a church dedicated to Mary Magdalene and housed sculptures of the Last Judgment and St. Mary Magdalene being carried up to heaven. His father had a successful business and upon his death, Antoine was compelled to return to his hometown and run the family business - giving him little time to paint. It was not until the end of World War II that he retired from the business and returned to his first love-painting. He moved his family to Paris and began to paint the "City of Lights." Like his contemporary, Edouard Cortes, he devoted his artistic career to the depiction of Paris through all its daily and seasonal changes. Whether it was l'Arc de Triomphe, la Madeleine, Café de la Paix, Notre Dame or the dozens of other historical monuments and buildings of Paris, his focus was on the daily life of Paris at the turn of the century. His work became highly sought after and collectors from around the world vied to acquire his new works. Today his is considered one of the leading exponents of the School of Paris painters.
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