PONTOY Henri (1888-1968) 

"Village of Pont-en-Royans, Isère" 

Oil on cardboard, 
Signed lower right, 

Beautiful work by the French painter Henri Pontoy which represents a view of the village of Pont-en-Royans. We can observe the old houses of the village which overlook the gorges of the Bourne animated by a character on the bank and the Pont Picard. 
The artist plays with contrasts and pays particular attention to details to highlight what he observes. 

A student of Luc-Olivier Merson at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Henri Pontoy rubbed shoulders with painters from the Barbizon School such as Corot and Millet, which influenced his practice of outdoor painting and his approach to orientalist landscapes. From the beginning of his career, Pontoy exhibited his engravings at the Salon des artistes français and his paintings at the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, the Salon d'Automne, as well as the Salon des artistes orientalistes algériens. 
His work quickly moved towards the representation of the oriental world and North Africa, which would become his favorite subjects throughout his career. In 1926, he received a travel grant from the Colonial Society of French Artists, founded in 1908 by Louis Dumoulin to encourage artists to paint in the colonies and organize art salons. 
With this grant, he traveled to various North African countries, including Tunisia, where he became a member of the Tunisian Salon, as well as Morocco and what was then French West Africa. 

In 1930, Pontoy moved to Ouarzazate, Morocco, where he became friends with the painter Jacques Majorelle. During this time, he became an arts and literature teacher at the Moulay Idriss High School in Fez. In 1933, he won the Grand Prix of the City of Algiers. The Second World War forced him to return to France, but he resumed his travels in 1947 with Jacques Majorelle, this time to Guinea, Ivory Coast, and then Cameroon. 
Henri Pontoy died on January 12, 1968 in Six-Fours-les-Plages, Provence, leaving behind a rich artistic oeuvre. 

Dimensions: 41.5 x 33 cm without frame and 58 x 49.5 cm with original wooden frame. 

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