*This painting is sold but the artist is regularly available in our inventory		Édouard Léon Cortès French, 1882 – 1969 Place de la Republique Oil on canvas 12 x 17 1/2 inches (31 x 44.5 cm) Framed: 16 1/4 x 24 1/2 inches Signed lower right: Édouard Cortès Provenance: Private collection, The Netherlands A certificate of expertise and authenticity accompanies this work from Dr. David Klein. Edouard Cortès was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, France in August of 1882.  He was the son of Antonio Cortès, the Spanish court painter, who was himself the son of the painter, André Cortès.  He attended a private elementary school until age thirteen.  Thereafter, he devoted himself to painting, working and studying with his father and older brother.  In 1899, at the age of 17, he began his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and exhibited his first work, entitled La Labour, at the Société des Artistes Français. The work was well received by both the critics and the public.  The year 1901 marked the artist’s first exhibition at the Salon des Artistes Français.  One of his works, a dramatic Paris street scene at dusk, brought him immediate fame. Later, as an active member of the prestigious Societe des Artistes Français, he exhibited his works yearly in Paris at the Society’s salon as well as at the Salon des Independants, and the Salon de l’Hiver. It was at the turn of the 19th century that Cortes began to paint the scenes he would become most famous for: Paris’ streets and monuments.  Views of Paris, or, as it became known, “the city of lights,” were in great demand by both collectors and tourists. Cortes, along with other artists, such as Eugene Galien-Laloue (1854-1941), Luigi Loir (1845-1916), and Jean Beraud (1849-1936), captured the city during its heyday and continued painting these scenes well into the 20th century. His poetic Parisian scenes are often imbued with nostalgia for belle époque France. Even into the 1950s, he often painted horse-drawn omnibuses and people in fashions preceding 1920. Cortes commented that, at least in his paintings, he wished to stop history in 1939, before the Second World War. The window he provides into this earlier period of Parisian life offers the viewer a visual history of France. Cortes’ views of Paris are amongst the most telling and beautiful images of this genre and continue to delight art lovers today.  His paintings express the romance, energy, and charm of old Paris through his masterly application of bold brush strokes and intriguing colors. In Place de la Republique, Cortès turns a cold winters night in Paris into a warm and inviting scene.  The night is illuminated by the street paved with stark white snow and by the soft red and orange glow of the shop windows.  Figures buried in long winter coats walk stiffly as they keep their arms close to their bodies in an effort to keep warm during the late night commute. Cortes’ paintings are exhibited in many French museums and can be found in Belgium, England, Switzerland, Sweden and Canada.