Jean-Baptiste OLIVE (1848-1936) - "La Calanque d’En Vau"

Original canvas and stretcher, superb original gilt wood frame

Dimensions : 74 cm x 60 cm (with its frame: 104 cm x 91 cm)

Jean Baptiste Olive was born in Marseille in 1848. He completed his classical apprenticeship with Antoine Vollon, where he first learned to capture the realism of still life. He traveled to Paris, where he created sets for the “Cirque d'Hiver” and the “Sacré-Cœur” de Montmartre. At the age of 23, Olive exhibited his first landscapes at the Salon des Artistes Français, achieving immediate success. The painter then lived between the capital and Marseille, where he maintained a studio on the “Canebière”. At the 1886 Salon, Jean Baptiste Olive won a medal for a landscape of Marseille. In 1889, he created decorations for several pavilions at the Universal Exhibition. This marked the beginning of international recognition for his painting, which radiates the light of the south.

Jean Baptiste Olive is one of the three great masters of the Marseille school at the end of the 19th century, along with Paul Guigou and Adolphe Monticelli. His marine subjects are the most sought-after, although Olive also left us some very beautiful still lifes. His lighting effects classify him as an Impressionist. His carefully studied staging characterizes the art of this painter, whose works are preserved in numerous museums.

Our Painting  is an important work, due to its imposing size, its emblematic subject, and its very accomplished treatment in terms of material. Jean-Baptiste Olive was particularly fond of this “En Vau “cove: he painted this view at least five times, always from the same angle, but at different times of the day. Like Claude Monet with his water lilies, Jean-Baptiste Olive, a meticulous observer, was fascinated by the effects of light through the water, with different lighting from the sun. Our painting is very close to the work in the Toulon Museum of Fine Arts, which is slightly larger. It is possible that our painting is a preparatory work for it. The condition of this work, on its original canvas, is excellent. The powerful colors are unscathed, the pictorial material intact. For this painting, Jean-Baptiste Olive commissioned an exceptional frame, which we have just had restored, recovering a large part of the original gilding.