"Ce qu'évoquent les Livres" by Émile Aubry '1880-1964'

About the Item

"Ce qu'évoquent les Livres" Allegory of the Literature Oil on canvas Signed on the lower part beside parchment 111 x 133 x 2 cm Framed 125 x 146 x 7 cm Provenance: Collection Georges AUBRY, brother of the artist Bibliography: Illustrated in catalogue «Regards de peintre» , Suzanne AUBRY-CASANOVA, 1997, p.104 After trying years of forced confinement due to the war, he composed this allegorical fresco on the theme of Literature, Science and Arts was painted by Émile Aubry for his younger brother Georges Aubry, who had intended it for his library. This work, composed on the theme of the book it symbolizes, in its diversity by allegorical characters, he cannot help ordering the painting around Art, which he places at the top of the scale of human thoughts. Architecture, superb caryatid, supports its weight, surrounded by symbolized Sculpture and Painting which she, on her knees, offers to her two friends, imperturbable and proud, Color, so essential to the final beauty. The Music, a little apart, pursues its dream and seems to prefer the calm of solitude to the speed of an accompaniment in the Comedy or the Tragedy which is played above it. History, grave, dignified, indifferent to Vultures and Devastating Times, prolongs a silent meditation in the midst of the ruins in front of human bones, while, on the other hand, Ve-nus, carefree, coming out of the waves twisting her hair, offers herself, radiant, to Life… The Life, the Love that old Homer, blind, knew how to sing in his poems, just as much as he glorified Adventure and the Sea. The Cross is not forgotten on the square sail that will carry it into the world. Astonishing, splendid framing for the central character, Man... immersed in his grimoires, surrounded by the stills of science, hunched over, chilly in his old age, under the dark screed that covers him, his hand tensed, his face tormented... It is all our poor humanity, in search, drawn into an endless rolling of doubt and hope, and which struggles, and persists in an eternal quest whose limits it nevertheless guesses. This painting, of such a beautiful elevation of thought and feeling, was little known to the public, but only to a few faithful, friends and relatives, because it was immediately placed in the library of Georges, the artist's brother. It was contrary to all the works of the master, which, being executed in Paris, were first the subject of an exhibition at the Salon des Artistes Français, then dispersed in national or international museums. and private collections, leaving Algiers only a simple photograph…in black and white. A touch of humor, before fixing the canvas to the wall. Why not give the old scientist sitting at his worktable the features of this brother for whom the painting is intended? We have fun in a feigned hesitation, then we stop there… besides, he is neither old nor learned, this brother who is only Professor at the Faculty of Medicine! Émile Aubry is a French painter born April 18 1880 in Sétif and died January 9 1964 in Voutenay-sur-Cure. Born in Algeria, he remains very attached to this country, especially through his works. Son of a military doctor, he studied at the Janson-de-Sailly high school from where he retained a solid imprint of Greco-Latin culture. He was also a student at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, which he joined in 1901 by joining the workshops of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Gabriel Ferrier. He distinguished himself in 1903 in the competition for painted sketches and received a second Grand Prix de Rome in 1905 for his Chained Silène. He finally obtained the Prix de Rome for painting in 1907 for his Virgile, at the same time as his comrade Louis Billotey, which allowed him to stay at the Villa Medici in Rome. He produced most of his paintings in his Paris studio on rue Chaptal. His studies of letters inspired him in canvases with subjects taken from ancient fables, Pastorale; Ride of the Centaurs, which also enabled him to study the heroic nude like most of his Art Deco con-temporaries. Aubry is also inspired by the beauty and spirituality of biblical texts: Jesus by the lake, At the foot of the cross, Adoration. After five years as a simple soldier, he painted Tribute to the War Dead for the town hall of the 5th arrondissement of Paris. He realizes the huge decor of the Opera of Algiers, his masterpiece. He also produced several canvases for the Algerian pavilion at the 1931 colonial exhibition in Paris. He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists between 1905 and 1937. On this occasion, he received a gold medal in 1920, the Henner Prize in 1926, and a medal of honor in 1934. In 1935, he was elected to the Academy the fine Arts. Émile Aubry was also a renowned society portrait painter, notably across the Atlantic (portrait of Alexandre Miniac).

Creator:

Louis Aubry (Painter)

Dimensions:

Height: 49.22 in (125 cm)Width: 57.49 in (146 cm)Depth: 2.76 in (7 cm)

Style:

Art Deco (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Canvas,Hand-Painted

Place of Origin:

France

Period:

1940-1949