Felix Ziem

FÉLIX ZIEM (Beaune, 1821 - Paris, 1911).
"Gondolas in a Venetian lagoon".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Certified by Comite Félix Ziem (Franck Baille, Nicole Durand and Christian Meissirel), archives of Pierre Miquel.
Measurements: 46 x 66 cm, 65 x 84 cm (frame).

Magnificent lake landscape, which conveys a vibrant and atmospheric impression of a lagoon near Venice. It denotes the characteristic style of Felix Ziem, lyrical and free, with dense impasto and rapid brushstrokes. The surface of the lagoon extends calm but lively, furrowed by gondolas: the figures are reduced to spots of colors whose warm tones contrast with the ochre and blue of the landscape. In the water, reflections mirror, mixing warm browns with dull greens and glazes of silvery transparency.

The autumn trees, with their large golden brown canopies, rise like masses of vibrant color, contrasting with the open, clear sky, a clean blue that extends without interruption. The atmosphere is clear, but charged with a diffused light, giving the whole scene an ethereal air.

Felix Ziem was a traveling painter deeply influenced by his many travels in Europe and North Africa. Initially trained in architecture in Dijon, he abandoned this career to devote himself to painting after a trip to Italy in 1841. His work ranged from scenes of Venice and Constantinople to landscapes of Provence and North Africa, reflecting his passion for light and color. He was recognized with the Legion of Honor in 1857 and became an official painter of the French Navy in 1901. He died in Paris in 1911 and is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. His legacy lives on in the Ziem Museum in Martigues, inaugurated in 1910, which houses an important collection of his works, including landscapes of Venice, Constantinople and the Provence region.