Marius François Reynaud

MARIUS FRANÇOIS REYNAUD (Marseille, 1860- Alger, 1935)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Presents damages in the frame.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 56 x 38 cm; 74 x 56 cm (frame).
Reynaud developed his career in a context in which North Africa constituted for many French painters a territory of aesthetic and symbolic fascination. Pictorial orientalism was not limited to exotic scenes or figures dressed in traditional costumes; it also manifested itself in the representation of architecture, light and daily life in colonial territories. In this work, the interest does not lie in the anecdotal, but in capturing the climate, the texture of the whitewashed walls and the structural serenity of the dwelling.
Unlike the more narrative or theatrical orientalism of the previous generation, Reynaud adopts a more sober and almost intimate gaze. His approach is close to a post-impressionist sensibility in the construction of the pictorial surface: matter is visible, the brushstroke has autonomy and color acquires structural value. The orientalist influence is manifested in the choice of motif - architecture with Maghrebi resonances, blinding white light, earthy tones and in the exaltation of a geography then considered "other", different from the European metropolis.