Contact gallery for price		Henri Martin French (1860-1943) Canards sur le Vert Oil on canvas 35 x 31 inches Signed lower right: Henri Martin Henri Martin was born August 5, 1860 in Toulouse.  His early works were devoted to poetic and allegorical themes reflecting his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse where he studied with Jules Garipuy.  After winning the Grand Prix, he moved to Paris in 1879 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Paul Laurens.  He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Francais in Paris from 1880, winning a medal at the 1883 Salon.  Although academically trained, Martin was quite attracted to the innovations of the Impressionists and later the Neo-Impressionists, similarly sharing a preoccupation with the suggestive rendering of the effects of light and atmosphere.  A visit to Italy in 1885 brought a new lyrical freedom to his work and on his return to Paris in 1889 he began experimenting with pointillism and turned almost exclusively to landscape.  By the 1890s his works showed links with Symbolism.  He was an associate of the Symbolists and exhibited at their acclaimed showcase—the first Salon de la Rose Croix in 1892.   In 1889 Martin exhibited at La Fete de la Federation where he was presented with a gold medal.  He was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1896, and in 1900 won the grand prize at the Exposition Universelle.  He was named Commander of the Legion of Honour in 1914, and became a member of the Institut in 1918.  In 1939 he bought Marquayrol, a mansion overlooking La Bastide du Vert, near Cahors, producing his highly regarded late works in the new tranquil environment, and died there in 1943. Our painting presents a view of the river Vert outside the village of Labastide.  Seen as if from a boat, the river appears to flow away from the viewer and gently bends to the right into the lush green surroundings of the river.  Long slender trunks of poplar and willow trees frame the view of the river with ducks floating lazily in the foreground. Martin’s magnificent brushwork captures the shimmering quality of the water and reveals his sensitivity for the effects of light and color.  His use of thick impasto to render the ducks in the foreground and the impressionistic treatment of the water contrasts the tighter brushwork of the rest of the composition and exemplifies his unique painting style that brings together different painting techniques.  The surface textures Martin skillfully integrates capture the effects of light and color in nature as he saw them and results in a image of the serene beauty of nature.    Museum Collections Include: Musee d’Orsay, Paris; Musee du Petit Palais, Paris; Musee des Augustins, Toulouse; Musee Henri Martin, Cahors; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux; Philadelphia Art Museum, PA; Palais des Beaux Arts, Paris; Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris; Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid; Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, Albi; Detroit Institute of Arts, MI; John G. Johnson Collection, Philadelphia; Telfair Academy of Arts & Science, Savannah; National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; Musee Bonnat, Bayonne; Musee Beziers; Musee Carcassonne; Musee Dijon; Musee Douai; Musee Lille; Musee Montpellier; Musee Montreal; Musee Mulhouse; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nantes; Musee du Luxembourg, Paris