Biography

Born in 1869 in Dieppe, Normandy, into a family of shipowners, Louis Valtat showed a talent for drawing at a very early age. Encouraged by his father, who was an amateur painter himself, he moved to Versailles where he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from 1886, before going onto to study at the Académie Julian. During these first years in Paris, he rubbed shoulders with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Influenced and inspired by the effervescence of successive avant-garde movements such as neo-impressionism, fauvism and the nabis, Louis Valtat fashioned a personal synthesis of these pictorial inventions and even preceded the Fauve (Wild Beasts) movement by several years.

He discovered the south of France in 1896 and fell in love with its light, having only known the skies of his native Normandy. He painted in Arcachon, Céret, Banyuls, Agay, Anthéor, and traveled as far as Spain.

Seduced by the landscapes and colours of Antheor, he built a house "Lou Roucas Rou" facing the Ile des Vieilles, where from 1899, he stayed during the winter months, and grew a lush garden. He is one of the most famous painters to immortalise the red rocks that are so unique to this region.

In 1900 he married Suzanne Noël who became his favourite model. Their son Jean was born in 1908 and he too became a favourite model of his father’s.

Anthéor was an important location for Louis Valtat’s paintings. His work is sought after for its pictorial and decorative qualities.

He became friends with some of the greatest masters of the time, whom he met regularly: notably Auguste Renoir who lived near Grasse and Paul Signac who had settled in Saint-Tropez. He visited them and painted alongside them with his friend Georges d'Espagnat.

In 1905 he exhibited alongside other “Fauves" (Wild Beasts) such as Derain, Matisse, and Vlaminck, at the Salon d'Automne in Paris, where his paintings caused a sensation.

In 1915 the family left Anthéor and returned to Paris to send Jean to school.

Wishing to maintain contact with nature, Valtat continued to travel throughout France. In 1924 he acquired a property in Choisel in the Yvelines, surrounded by a garden and an orchard that he developed and maintained. From then on, he spent most of his time there, while continuing to travel around France. He progressively moved onto paint solely still life and flowers, a recurring theme in his work since the beginning. He had not painted for several years following the decline of his eyesight, when he died in 1952.

Louis Valtat was a prolific and versatile artist, a tireless painter who produced more than 4000 paintings, not to mention illustrations, prints, lithographs, posters, ceramics, sculptures, tapestry and cartoons.

His works can be found in some of the most illustrious museums as well as in numerous private collections in France and throughout the world. They can be admired in Paris, New York, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Geneva, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Caen, Cahors, etc.

Discreet, free and solitary, he remained fiercely independent of the avant-garde currents that preceded one another at the beginning of the 20th century, opting to follow and develop his own artistic vision. This approach made him a painter with a unique and immediately recognisable style. Critics and the wider public have difficulty in classifying him, especially since he remains on the sidelines of any theoretical discussion. This independence is an affirmation of his originality. He did not seek honours or commissions for large-scale decorations, but instead flourished in the development of his own vision.

From 1900 to 1911 the art dealer Ambroise Vollard, one of the greatest art dealers of the early 20th century, was convinced by Valtat’s talent. He bought all of his work from him, a rare occurrence, which ensured Louis Valtat a comfortable start as a young painter. Vollard regularly featured his paintings in his gallery and in February 1909, he organised an "Exhibition of the Works of Louis Valtat" on rue Lafitte in Paris. Vollard also took care to send paintings to various exhibitions that took place throughout Europe, in cities such as Dresden, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, London and even as far as Moscow.

After several years of collaboration, Ambroise Vollard found himself overwhelmed by production and advised Valtat "In a nutshell, it is in your interest as well as in mine, that you have a change of scenery". This gave Valtat the opportunity to work with other art dealers and galleries both in France and abroad.

To the art dealer’s credit, Valtat's paintings can be found in major collections, such as that of Count Doria or the Russian industrialist Ivan Morozov, which was exhibited at the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

This thirst for independence defines both Valtat’s personality and his art.

He received official recognition when he was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1927.

Much sought after in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, it is estimated that about 30% of his work is preserved across the Atlantic. This international recognition is a further confirmation of Louis Valtat's talent.

The art world agrees today that Louis Valtat was an avant-garde painter who occupies a pivotal place between post-impressionism in the late 19th century and the fauvist movement at the beginning of the 20th century.

Ambroise Vollard once said: "Patience, one day we will realise that Valtat is a great painter".

Two paintings, featuring the Estérel opposite, are on display at the Musée de l'Annonciade in Saint-Tropez.

This garden, created by the city of Saint-Raphaël, pays homage to him, who loved to paint nature and southern landscapes.



The association « Les Amis de Louis Valtat » and Alain Dubreuil