Marcel DYF (1899-1985) 

"Flower Market in Arles" 

Oil on canvas, 
Signed lower right. 

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Maréchaux firm in Paris. 
We thank Mrs. Claudine Dyf, the painter's wife, for also confirming the authenticity of this work. 

This beautiful work by the painter Marcel Dyf, created around 1950, depicts a view of the flower market on the Boulevard des Lices in Arles during the summer. The artist used a vibrant color palette and played with contrasts and light to bring his work to life. The artist paid particular attention to the details of the figures and the flower stalls. 

Arles and Provence were subjects dear to the painter Marcel Dyf; he created a series of works on folklore and local life in Arles, notably his market scenes. Our work also very likely served as a model for a photogravure reproduction by the artist, sold to the public around 1960, which includes some variations. 

From a very young age, Marcel Dyf drew and frequented the Louvre; childhood holidays in Normandy instilled in him a lifelong love of the sea and marine skies. After completing his studies, his first job took him to southern Morocco. He was dazzled by the light and the landscapes and decided to dedicate his life to painting. 
In 1923, he settled in Arles, in the south of France, where he began a rigorous but exhilarating apprenticeship that would shape the painter in a legendary place, welcomed and supported by many intellectual and prominent friends of Arles. 
He notably created the murals for the town halls of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Saint-Martin-de-Crau. During the Second World War, he joined the French Resistance in the Maquis. 
At the end of the war, Marcel Dyf divided his time between his Paris studio and the South of France.

"This feat is quite rare. He possessed the reserve and elegance of a lord, and even the simplest people felt completely at ease in his presence. Often penniless, he lived in sumptuous poverty like a patron of the arts. He had such elegance and charisma that on the occasions when you did him a favor, you felt indebted to him. He was charm personified, and this almost harmed his painting. It gave the impression of such ease that it seemed superficial, whereas it was learned, demanding, rigorous, and deliberate. This is what, over the years, has become increasingly clear. And one realizes just how audacious it was." Yvan Audouard, 

In 1944, held three exhibitions at the Petrides Gallery in Paris, then returned to Arles, and later to Saint-Paul-de-Vence. 
In 1954, in Cannes, he married Claudine and moved back to the Paris region, settling in Bois-d'Arcy in 1959. 
His works were exhibited at the Frost & Reed Gallery in London as early as 1955. 
His talent is now recognized internationally. 

Dimensions: 50 x 61 cm unframed and 75 x 86 cm with its black wooden frame.

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