MONTENARD Frédéric (1849-1926) 

"Blooming Broom in Provence" 

Oil on canvas, 
Signed and dated 1911 lower right. 

A beautiful, finely detailed work by the Toulon painter Frédéric Montenard, depicting a flowery view of the Provençal countryside, most likely in the vicinity of Toulon where the artist loved to paint. All the elements symbolizing Provence are brought together in this painting: the olive tree, the blooming broom, the arid vegetation, and the vibrant colors. 
The brushstrokes are precise, faithfully representing the landscape the artist contemplates. 

A student of Dubuffe and Puvis de Chavannes at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Frédéric Montenard made his debut at the Salon with a charcoal drawing that received an honorable mention in 1880. 
In 1879, he founded the Toulon School of Fine Arts with the painters Eugène Dauphin, Gustave Garand, and Octave Gallian. 
After leaving Paris and the Atlantic coast, the painter worked primarily in Provence, particularly in the Var region. He taught at the Toulon School of Fine Arts and mentored the painter François Nardi. 
He exhibited regularly at the Salons in Paris and throughout the provinces, where his work was repeatedly recognized and praised by critics. The French State acquired two of the artist's canvases exhibited at the 1883 Salon: "A Cemetery in Provence" and "The Corrèze, War Transport Leaving Toulon." 
In 1890, he participated with the painter Puvis de Chavannes in the creation of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and met the Italian-Brazilian painter Giovanni Castagneto, whom he advised to take classes with the Toulon-based painter François Nardi. 

In 1921, Frédéric Montenard was appointed official painter of the French Navy. He created a significant number of decorative panels for the Toulon Museum, the mineralogical amphitheater at the Sorbonne, the Train Bleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon, and other institutions. 
Furthermore, in 1922, he illustrated an edition of Mistral's Mireille with original color engravings. After the First World War, the artist settled in Besse-sur-Issole. 

His works are now held in numerous museums in France: La Rochelle, Niort, Tourcoing, Marseille, Toulon, Paris... and abroad, including in Turkey and the Sydney Museum. 

Dimensions: 34.5 x 54.5 cm without its frame and 47 x 67 cm with its original gilt-patinated wooden frame. 

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