ANDRE BARBIER | Paris, le Pont Alexandre III et la Tour Eiffel
Oil on Canvas
54 x 73 cms / 21 ¼ x 28 ¾ inches
Signed 'André Barbier' (lower left)
The Seine extends across the foreground, its surface animated by broken strokes of pale grey, blue and cream that register shifting reflections. At centre, a low vessel moves along the river, leaving a darker wake that draws the eye towards the far bank. The arch of the Pont Alexandre III spans from right to left, its structure reduced to softened planes beneath a luminous sky. Beyond, the Eiffel Tower rises vertically in the distance, flanked by the gilded statues atop the bridge’s columns, their forms rendered as small accents of warm colour. The viewpoint is set at water level, looking upstream so that bridge and tower align within a compressed horizon. Paint is applied in thin, layered touches, allowing atmosphere to dissolve architectural detail. Painted during the artist’s engagement with Parisian river scenes in the early twentieth century, Paris, le Pont Alexandre III et la Tour Eiffel forms part of a broader exploration of modern landmarks along the Seine.
Inspired by his Impressionist forbears, André Barbier delighted in depicting verdant forests and luminous seascapes at different times of the day and in a variety of atmospheric conditions. Like many of his contemporaries in early nineteenth-century Paris, Barbier travelled extensively in pursuit of subjects for his landscapes.
In 1916 Barbier met Claude Monet and the two artists immediately struck up a friendship. Monet was so taken with Barbiers works that he sponsored an exhibition of his works with a preface by Monets biographer and friend, Gustave Geffroy, who urged him to build of mist and light, a world of poetry. Although a follower of the Impressionists, Barbiers style is wholeheartedly distinct. Barbier built up compositions using delicate layers of paint in a post-impressionist manner, often using a flickering outline to the forms within the landscape and imbuing his compositions with a delicate haze of light.
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