Léon Giran-Max (1867-1927) - Summer evening in the Oise

Dimensions : H. 65.5 cm x L. 82 cm

Born in 1867, Léon Giran-Max is a French impressionist painter, then neo-impressionist. There is no information about his studies and it seems that this artist is purely self-taught. It is rare that a painter without training and without the support of the network that constitutes his school, his teachers and his fellow students, reaches posterity. Vincent Van Gogh is an exception. Apart from 4 paintings sold for more than 10,000 euros at auction (54,000 euros obtained at Aguttes in Paris in 2005), the average price of Giran-Max's works is still incredibly affordable given the quality of his production.

At its beginnings, Giran-Max's painting, constructed with a vigorous touch, is nevertheless imbued with great sensitivity. His palette is made of shimmering colors, but often nuanced and in monochrome. For a self-taught artist, his compositions are extremely classical and guide our eye into beautiful, peaceful landscapes. It was around Paris that Giran Max captured the light of his first landscapes, and particularly around Auvers-sur-Oise. The artist he was closest to at this time was Claude Monet.

The Barc de Bouteville was the avant-garde gallery of the end of the 19th century in Paris: the greatest impressionists, symbolists, Nabis and post-impressionists exhibited there: Edouard Manet, Maurice Denis, Émile Bernard, Heny Moret, Toulouse- Lautrec, Bonnard, Signac, Van Gogh, Luce, Pissarro, Sérusier, etc… Like these, Léon Giran-Max was spotted by the Barc de Bouteville which dedicated a personal exhibition to him in 1898. He also exhibited at the Nationale and at the Salon independents who will pay tribute to him in 1928 after his death.

From 1900, Giran Max's impressionist technique changed: Solid colors gradually replaced the comma touch, and subjects from the south of France became more and more frequent. Giran-Max also worked in advertising and we owe him the famous poster for Cycles Petipas, whose mastery and modernity of drawing demonstrate the multiplicity of talents of this still very little known painter.

Our painting : It is a beautiful end of a summer day, with a bold composition in two parts. The touch is vigorous, comma, on a canvas whose rusticity responds to the representation of the rural building. For the trees and the building, the technique consists of a superposition of touches of similar colors, with infinite shades of green and ocher. The sky reveals the light background to give diffused light, while the building is treated with a much denser paste which seems to catch the last rays of the sun. It is a painting from the impressionist period by Giran-Max, around 1890. Of good size, it is in perfect condition and on its original canvas. It is in an old frame repatinated in imitation of wood.

Giran-Max. “Petitpas Cycles”
Lithograph G. Bataille, 18 rue de Chabrol, Paris
Signed lower left 124 x 81 cm