NICOT François (1873-1945)

"Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Karnak, Egypt" 

Oil on thick wood panel, 
Signed lower left, 
Titled on the back by the artist: "Hypostyle Hall - Karnak" 

Beautiful and large work by the French painter François Nicot which represents a lively view of the great Hypostyle Hall in the ruins of the temple of Karnak in Egypt. 
The artist succeeded in perfectly capturing the characteristics of the place with his thick paint: the grandeur of the temple's columns and the inscriptions carved upon them, as well as the interplay of light. 
In September 1938, François Nicot again participated in the annual art exhibition in Le Creusot, presenting two landscapes of Egypt, including "The Ruins of Karnak," which could be the work displayed here. 

A student of the painter Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris between 1901 and 1910, François Nicot was initially interested in Burgundian landscapes and still lifes before becoming "an Orientalist painter." 
In 1914, he settled in Istanbul, Turkey, and then the following year in Tunisia. In 1922, he married Maria Antonia Marturet, born in Caracas, Venezuela, and resided in Paris. A traveling painter, François Nicot regularly explored the countries of the Mediterranean basin before deciding to settle in Cap d'Antibes in a house overlooking the sea. 
In 1935, the critic for the newspaper Le Phare de la Loire described his painting: "Bold, almost always applied with a palette knife that arranges the colors according to relationships..." 
Between 1900 and 1938, the artist exhibited in various major galleries in Paris (Galerie Durand Ruel, Georges Petit, etc.), in the provinces: Lyon, Nantes, etc., and abroad: Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc. 

Dimensions: 81 x 65 cm unframed and 96 x 80 cm with its original patinated wooden frame. 

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