Painting (front/back) by Horace Richebé - Still life / The port of Marseille

Horace RICHEBÉ (Algiers 1871-1964 Nice)
Anemones and Mimosas; The Port of Marseille (two sides)
Oil on heavy cardboard, front and back (old cutter marks)
61 x 49 cm; 73 x 63 cm (framed)
Signed 'H. Richebé' lower right; several labels on the back, including one from the Marseille exhibition (undated)
Originally from Algiers, Horace Richebé studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, then in Paris, where he became a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1866. After presenting his work at the Colonial Exhibition in Marseille in 1906, he received a scholarship to study in Tunisia. The very favorable reception of his regular submissions to the Paris Salon earned him several awards. In 1924, he was appointed director of the École des Beaux-Arts and curator of the Arles Museums. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1926.
A painter of flowers, views of Marseille, and Orientalist scenes, the artist never strictly defined a genre. Enjoying great renown during his lifetime, he established himself as a painter of still lifes and color. However, two influences are often identifiable in his work: those of the Fauves and the Nabis.
The work on display here surprises with its originality. Presented at a Marseille exhibition, dated between 1908 and 1920, it offers us a view, on one side, of a still life with anemones and mimosas, while on the reverse side, we see the port of Marseille. These are the artist's two favorite subjects. Each is executed in a distinct way. The flowers, with their bright, vibrant colors, invite us to participate in a muted and warm intimacy. The different planes are treated in flat tints, like a work by Pierre Bonnard. This is the praise given to his still lifes in 1928: "Horace Richebé, without ceasing to be modern, has rediscovered tradition, the true one, I mean the classical tradition. A few fruits, a plate, a piece of pottery (...) are enough for him to create the atmosphere. His canvases (...) go beyond the frame, they evoke the interior, the house, the soul of things. He proves to be an unusual painter of intimacy." (Le Petit Parisien, November 21, 1928, p. 4.) The port, for its part, is executed in a more lively and brushed manner, which reminds us, for its part, of the Fauvist Charles Camoin.

Ref: 3WP7BFEH5Y