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an oil painting of a farm with two thatched roofs and a dirt roadan oil painting of a farm scene with a road leading to a barnan image of a painting of a dirt road in front of a thatched housean oil painting of a landscape with a mountain in the backgroundan old picture of a wooden frame with a picture hanging on the wall
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2248 - Maximilien Luce (1858–1941), *Les Meules*, Île-de-France, oi…
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Estimate CHF 20,000 - CHF 30,000
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Description
Maximilien Luce (1858–1941), *Les Meules*, Île-de-France, oil on canvas, signed, 46 × 55 cm Provenance: Galerie Motte, Geneva, 8–9 November 1969, lot 458, Private collection, Switzerland; Piguet Auction, Geneva, 22 May 2019, lot 874, Private collection, Switzerland (acquired from the previous provenance) Bibliography: Denise Bazetoux and Jean Bouin-Luce, *Maximilien Luce: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings*, Volume II, Editions JBL/Sous le Vent, Paris, 1986–2005, pp. 125–126, no. 501 On the reverse: label from the Galerie Motte Building on the legacy of Neo-Impressionist experimentation, this oil on canvas demonstrates the importance Maximilien Luce attached to light and the vibrancy of colour, a legacy of the Divisionist technique developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. An emblematic motif of modern painting, the haystack naturally evokes Claude Monet’s explorations of variations in light and atmosphere. These plant structures, hallmarks of the rural landscape after the harvest, provide an ideal subject for observing the landscape’s transformations as the hours and seasons pass. Luce, too, takes up this subject in several landscapes of the French countryside, deepening his study of atmospheric effects. This composition is distinguished by a sustained focus on tonal values, the play of light and shadow, and the chromatic variations that give structure to the landscape. However, the inclusion of figures of farmers introduces a human dimension characteristic of Luce’s work. By placing the world of labour at the heart of the composition, the artist moves beyond mere contemplation of the landscape to evoke the everyday reality of rural life. This focus on workers runs through his entire body of work, from rural scenes to depictions of building sites and industrial landscapes. The countryside thus becomes both a setting for an exploration of light and colour and a stage for human labour. The vibrancy of the brushwork, the presence of the figures and the luminous construction of the landscape reflect Luce’s characteristic synthesis of the Neo-Impressionist legacy, observation of nature and constant attention to contemporary life.
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About the sale Art from the Orient and the Far East – Paintings and sculptures
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Auction time 09/23/2026 at 10:00 AM
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