| In recent years, painters have rushed to Provence, and the walls of
galleries endlessly show us the various aspects of the scented beggar. But setting up your easel in a country and bringing back some forty 20-size canvases does not prove that you have grasped the soul of this country, this I do not
know what indefinable, which refuses artists who are too eager or too sure of themselves„ How many views of Provence we have seen, which had no more flavor than an unwelcome fruit! Even being a native of the country is not enough; there must be a secret correspondence between nature and the artist. This correspondence exists between Girieud and
Provence ; you only have to look at his landscapes to see it. He retraces better than anyone these serious, sober and large sites, where the vegetation knows how to place itself so well to enhance the framework of the country.
Even when he admits no figures, his canvases evoke in the mind the ancient world and fable. I
believe that this exhibition is the best that Girieud has given us. It seems that with age its fiery nature calms down, settles down, and acquires a mellow maturity. Don't forget to point out these two
canvases, which he calls “interpretations” after Tintoretto and Rubens. These are free copies, and where
the intelligence of the masters unites with a solid science.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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reproduction of Saint Rémy les antiques |