For the people of Toulon, Vincent Courdouan is a bit like “their” favorite painter. And it is one of his paintings which will be auctioned in Monaco on October 18 and 19. A price record could occur there.
“This painting was previously in the Var and had been lovingly preserved in a wine estate in the west of the department”explains the Monaco auction house. Which? No one knows, seller discretion requires. This exceptionally large canvas, 2.10 meters by 3 meters, represents the harbor of Toulon in 1870. A precious testimony.
The harbor and a family on a stroll
In the foreground, we can see a family walking among ruins and the hill. The sky seems infinite and occupies a good half of the painting, with perfect variations of blue. In the distance, the Toulon mountains can be seen. Ultimately, the harbor doesn’t seem that big. But it constitutes the central point of the work. The gaze is drawn there naturally and forces the viewer to physically approach the painting to better discover its pictorial details.
Above all, in the center of the canvas, a palm tree rises high into the sky, as if to break the peaceful atmosphere of the painting. The layers of green and blue follow one another to give the whole a gigantic view, from west to east, of the city.
Nicknamed the “traveling painter”, Vincent Courdouan lived from 1810 to 1893. He never left Toulon (with the exception of his studies in Paris and a few trips), immortalizing his city in all its landscapes. Considered the leader of the Provençal school of his time, he painted Toulon like no other: the Cap Brun district, the Basse Batterie, the Mourillon cornice, Fort Saint-Louis… With millimeter precision.
Starting price: 20,000-30,000 euros
This immense oil, signed and authenticated by the artist, will be priced between 20,000 and 30,000 euros. It could be sold for double the price, both for its artistic qualities and its maxi format.
“It’s unique because, at auction, a Courdouan painting has never exceeded 10,000 euros. Every year, we are lucky to see some go through. They sell well but do not reach sales records” , comments Maitre Jean Porsin, auctioneer at the Toulon auction house. “Courdouan was a specialist in large landscapes and seascapes. The public appreciates it.”
For this sale of works of art and old paintings, silverware and Russian art, the large format Courdouan will be a little lost in the middle of all the scattered pieces. But its rarity and especially its format will undoubtedly make the difference.
