Henri Manguin watercolour and ink "Le Rhone"

A watercolour and ink entitled "Le Rhone", c.1925 by the French Fauvist painter, Henri Manguin (1874-1949).
Signed bottom left “Le Rhone 1925 Manguin”

DIMENSIONS: 9.5 x 13.5 in. (image); 21 x 25 in. (frame)

PROVENANCE:
1) Georges Couturat, Paris (GEORGES COUTURAT COLLECTION)
2) Ray Kisber Art + Design, Montreal

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Henri Manguin was one of the original group of artist’s who, in the early 1900’s, became known as Les Fauves (The Wild Beasts) through their ‘wild’ and daring works. Along with Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice Vlaminck, Manguin developed a bold new approach to colour and form and although one critic at the time suggested that their paintings were like a ‘pot of paint…thrown in the face of the public’ their colourful, almost radical, paintings had a far reaching effect on the development of art in the twentieth century.

The prevailing characteristic of Henri Manguin's oeuvre is vibrant and luxuriant colour and simplified forms. He avoided unnecessary detail, instead using dazzling color and strong lines to produce masterful compositions.

Influenced by the work of Cézanne as well as the Impressionist paintings of Monet and Renoir, Manguin’s Fauve paintings are typically lively with concentrated color. He felt the composition of colors was as vital as a painting's subject matter in communicating meaning.

This watercolour is very representative of Henri Manguin. The subject is characterised by strong lines, simple and uncomplicated imagery, and monochromatic hues of vibrant blue. What is most striking is that he treats white as a colour which dominates the entire work of art, i.e, the white becomes the focal point of the painting.