Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12

Serge Belloni '1925-2005', the Japanese Bridge at Giverny, 1989

About the Item

Superb and vivid painting of the Japanese bridge at Giverny, Claude Monet's (1883 - 1926) residence, by the artist Serge Belloni (1925-2005). Framed under glass. Frame gilt gold. Signed and dated "Belloni 89". In good condition. Slight signs of use on the gold frame. Dimensions in cm of the piece (H x L) : 68.5 x 49 Dimensions in cm of the frame (H x L) : 87.3 x 67.3 Secure shipping with specialised company. Serge Belloni, born in Piacenza on February 25, 1925 and died in Menton on October 28, 20051, is a French painter of Italian origin. Serge Belloni, known as The Painter of Paris, is the son of the upholsterer Luigi Belloni and Elvira Belloni born Molinari. He arrived in Paris in 1933 where he studied painting at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris. He exhibited his paintings from 19463. Several of his works are kept by the Carnavalet Museum in Paris. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery (12th division). (Wikipedia) The dawn, to him, seems to linger, the day seems to have difficulty to rise. He contemplates and loves this birth at the same time beautiful and painful. His head is heavy because he has slept badly: so many projects are jostling in his mind, so many desires, to the point of vertigo, to undertake and complete landscapes and compositions. It is autumn. Autumn in Paris in this light with iridescent colors where the purples and the bluish greys dominate, which agree so well with the poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud which sings in his heart. The light of day rises. It is necessary to attack. A daily sport session so that "brother the body" is up to what will be asked of him throughout the hours that will follow; a cup of strong Italian coffee quickly swallowed and he runs to his appointment with the motif. He runs there with the same lively joy as forty years earlier, with the same love in his heart but also with the same anguish: will he be up to the task? The memory of the lessons of the Ancients, of what they were, weighs heavily on him. Paris! The city sticks to his skin. Like all love, attraction of the heart as well as of the spirit, call of the flesh, it is inexplicable. This city where the windows are as many eyes looking at you. Does he choose his subject? He is sure of the contrary: it is the subject who chose him and asks him to paint his portrait. Because what he wants to paint, what he paints, are portraits of Paris. Paris and its moods. Its joys. Its sorrows. Its melancholy. "The cries of Paris" to use Paul Fort's expression. Here he is on the ground. He makes sketches, preparatory drawings. In fact he marries his subject, becomes his subject that he could draw from memory. Then he attacks a small canvas that he works at length, riveted to the motif. He does not draw on the canvas because charcoal would dirty the color and the pencil would risk casting a shadow under it. He sketches the subject by covering the canvas completely. From then on, he held on to his guiding thread which, from the small canvas, would lead him to larger formats, even if he changed his technique to better render the emotion: egg tempera then oil or directly oil colors. He uses a very fine-grained canvas and "sable" brushes that give him the feeling of lovingly caressing his canvas, his subject. He is alone on this bridge, on this quay, at the top of this terrace. Alone in the cold that penetrates him to the bone, under the rain that streams down his face, his hands, flows down his neck and slides on his canvas. Alone in front of this high sun whose rays dart hard. The motif, nothing but the motif: no canvas is finished or retouched in the studio. His studio is the open air. To paint on the ground, it is to find the truth and to feel an emotion which will translate its tables. An unwavering requirement that had struck Francis Carco writing: "I think it is difficult to be more in love with his art than him and more demanding. How many painters of this quality would be able to devote up to forty sessions to the same motif? His greys and blues are inimitable and, why hide it, his love of Paris made him paint his best canvases. His first paintings were dark. It is true that at the time Paris was emerging from the war and the last renovations were far away. Perhaps these muted and dark colors also expressed a certain melancholy? Over the years, he moved towards the light. Did his travels in the East, the oriental philosophy, open other horizons to him? It is possible. On the other hand, it is certain that the influence of those who have always encouraged his work has played a role in the evolution of his palette: Carco, Dorgelès, Paul Fort, Pierre Brisson, Jean Griot who wrote: "If I tried to define the nature and the quality of the dialogue that exists between Serge Belloni and those who love and admire his work, I would say that this dialogue is of a poetic nature. Poetry is a song. To make his canvas sing: that is his concern and his exaltation. The canvas must vibrate, sing. A single false note and everything falls apart: the chords no longer ring true, the architecture of the painting collapses, colors, drawings, volumes pass by what should be harmonious and balanced. Noon. He returned home and limited himself to a frugal meal. His friends tell him that he is neither gourmet nor gourmand, that he has no palate. He replies that the pleasures of the table are those that he gets from the friendship of his guests and that the deprivations he experienced during his teenage years, which were those of the war, have trained him to this Spartan diet. He turned his canvas against the wall: if he looked at it more doubt would invade him, would grow and would risk pushing him, at night, to destroy what he had done a few hours earlier. In the afternoon, he leaves with another canvas: everything is changed because it is no longer the same light. He loves Paris in autumn and winter: the trees stripped of their leaves show him its architecture and its soul. He likes to paint portraits and nudes, which remind him of his research when he was studying the anatomy of the body. He also paints flowers on a gold background, a technique he has been practicing for more than thirty years, constantly seeking to improve it. Second pole of his activity: Venice, several months each year, in a total solitude that he considers essential to creation. His tastes lead him to Venice Minor, the most ancient, where he finds the audacity and strength of the first builders who gave the city its soul. The softness of the marble with a patina of time where the light plays, the harmony of the sky and the water, this permanent festive air give him a complete joy. He had the chance to discover Venice at a very young age with Professor Guido Perocco and his brother, who was the Magistrate of the Serenissima Waterworks. Does this passion for Art devour him to the point of making him an egomaniac, an egoist? Isn't Art a kind of watering hole: the closer you get to it, the more it attracts you, him and him alone? The answer to these questions is simple: if he had to start from scratch and redo the path he had taken, he would not hesitate. And at this moment, his memory goes back to his friends of the past: Gérard Blondel who died too young, Lucien Philippe Moretti who became a great painter. And yet, to start again would mean getting up very early, working hard to earn a living without ever making any concession to his artistic ideal; in the afternoon going to the Beaux-Arts, in the evening to the Academy, coming back exhausted but with dreams full of head in this tiny room where he spent his beautiful years of youth, without any possible distraction. Yes, all this I will do again with the same love, the same perseverance. As I talk to him, I look at him in the mirror: he is in front of me and I see him again at his first exhibition in Paris for his twentieth birthday and I think of the one at the Carnavalet Museum forty years later. Everest is not the only peak to reach. He has light eyes and gray hair and I say to him: "Hello, Serge Belloni". Serge Belloni 1986.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 26.97 in (68.5 cm)Diameter: 19.3 in (49 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1980-1989
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1989
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    PARIS, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU8131233065552

More From This Seller

View All
Serge Belloni, The Rose Bouquet, France, 1980s
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful painting of a bouquet of a bouquet of roses in a vase, by the artist Serge Belloni (1925-2005). Framed under glass. Frame gilt gold. Signed "Se...
Category

Vintage 1980s French Paintings

Materials

Paint

Pierre Adrien Ekman (1904-1993), Discovery of the New World, Framed Oil Painting
Located in PARIS, FR
Superb oil painting by Pierre Adrien Ekman (1904-1993). Beautiful representation of the Discovery of the New World. Painting style with touches of the Romantic, Naif, Art Deco, surre...
Category

Vintage 1940s French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Pierre Le Faguays (1892-1962), Young Girl and her Dog, Framed Oil on Canvas
By Pierre Le Faguays
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful framed painting of a young girl and her dog by the artist Pierre le Faguays (1892-1962). Famously known for his Art Deco sculptures, he dedicated to himself to painting on ...
Category

Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Oliver Rhys (1854-1907), Painting 'A Cool Corner', England 1800s
By Oliver Rhys
Located in PARIS, FR
Superb oil painting by Oliver Rhys (1854-1907), signed and titled 'A Cool Corner'. Representation of two children sitting on a ledge with a Mediterranean backdrop. Excellent conditi...
Category

Antique 19th Century English Romantic Paintings

Materials

Paint

Paul Louchet, Painting "Forêt De Fontainebleau", France
By Paul Louchet
Located in PARIS, FR
Superb painting on cardboard of a forest landscape of Fontainebleau at dawn by the multidisciplinary artist Paul Louchet (1854-1936). Signed at the bottom right and titled at the bac...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Romantic Paintings

Materials

Paint

Philippe Conficconi, Green Earthenware Head of Man, France, 2005
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful green bust of man in green patinated earthenware by Philippe Conficcioni in the midcentury style. Signed. In good condition. Dimensions in cm ( ...
Category

Early 2000s French Mid-Century Modern Busts

Materials

Earthenware

You May Also Like

Landscape "At Giverny"
Located in New York, NY
Copy of an impressionist landscape titled "At Giverny" Condition: Good; Wear consistent with age and use
Category

Late 20th Century American Victorian Paintings

Materials

Paint

Original Serge Belloni Parisian Cityscape. Signed Framed Autumn Painting
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Original Serge Belloni Parisian Cityscape. Signed Framed Autumn Painting on Board. Charming Parisian cityscape, signed and framed oil on artist board by Serge Belloni. The painting displays essential features of Belloni’s renowned Parisian works. This view of Paris features an autumnal scene with glassy architectural reflections. In the moody street scene sits a flower vendor’s cart...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Other Paintings

Materials

Giltwood, Paint

Landscape "The Bridge at Narmi"
Located in New York, NY
Copy of impressionist landscape painting titled "The Bridge at Narmi" showing landscape with river
Category

Late 20th Century American Victorian Paintings

Materials

Paint

Landscape of Water Lillies at Giverny
Located in New York, NY
Copy of an Impressionist landscape painting showing water lilies in a pond at Giverny
Category

Late 20th Century American Victorian Paintings

Materials

Paint

Parisian Cityscape, Signed and Framed Oil on Canvas by Serge Belloni
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Parisian cityscape, signed and framed oil on canvas by Serge Belloni, ‘57 This painting has all the quintessential features of Belloni’s renowned Parisi...
Category

Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

1950's French Modernist/ Cubist Drawing -The Bridge At The Stream
Located in Cirencester, GB
French Landscape by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original watercolour/ gouache painting on artist paper, unframed size: 8.25 x 11.75 inches condition: very good and re...
Category

Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Other

Recently Viewed

View All