PEGURIER Auguste (1856-1936)

“Procession on the port of Saint-Tropez” 

Oil on canvas, ca 1895
Signed lower right,
Titled on the back by the artist on a label: “Procession sur le port”,
Gallery label d'art MINET in Paris,
Various annotations and numbering on the frame and the stretcher,

Beautiful and rare work by the painter Auguste Pégurier nicknamed "the first painter of Saint-Tropez" which represents a procession on the Quai Suffren in Saint-Tropez.
The Saint-Tropez artist represented either the Bravade procession which takes place from May 16 to 18 or that of Corpus Christi in June.

In the foreground, we observe the religious procession which advances on the quay of the port of Saint-Tropez acclaimed by the population.
In the background of the procession, we can see the bronze statue of Bailli de Suffren, vice-admiral of France and son of the country, as well as the Hôtel Café Casino.
The artist strived to scrupulously represent reality with the play of light.
With an impressionist touch, this unpublished painting is a rare testimony to the traditions in the village of Saint-Tropez.

Writings from the period mention several times that the painter Pegurier represents the Procession of Bravade in Saint-Tropez.
La Bravade is a traditional festival that takes place every year from May 16 to 18 in Saint-Tropez. It celebrates both the attachment of the people of Tropez to their glorious military past and their deep devotion to their Patron Saint: Saint-Tropez.

We can compare our work with two other paintings by the artist which represent this same subject "Procession in Saint-Tropez" preserved at the Musée de l'Annonciade in Saint-Tropez (donation in 1982 and acquisition in 2011 from the City of Saint-Tropez).

We find the two works preserved at the Musée de l'Annonciade in the work: "Auguste Pegurier, The first painter of Saint-Tropez" by Claude Roger-Marx, Editions Arts et Métiersgraphiques 1970.
In this work, the author evokes that the artist Auguste Pegurier strives to represent "wisely in the observation of everyday life, without giving in to the imagination (...) the only abstraction he allows himself is to empty his landscapes of any troubled celebration. This Only exceptionally did he describe the Procession of Bravade which, each year, parades in front of the statue of Bailli de Suffren.

Just like the Impressionist masters, the artist has total mastery of the play of light and sunny atmospheres. His painting is characterized by vibrant touches of color allowing him to transcribe the light of Provence and to express poetry in his works.

Student of Cormon and Carolus-Duran at the Jullian academy in Paris. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1880. Not being appreciated enough in Paris, he decided to settle in Saint-Tropez where he led a life without material worries as a wine owner.
During the interwar period, he appeared again in Parisian exhibitions from 1924 to 1935.
He welcomed his painter friends to his home in Saint-Tropez: Matisse, Bonnard, Manguin, Camoin and many others.

His works are kept at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and at the Musée de L'Annonciade in Saint-Tropez.

Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm without frame and 67 x 76 cm with its beautiful original RG Paris frame in Louis XV style gilded wood.

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