Les Jacinthes

Louis Valtat prints bring glowing colour and sunshine into your home, from bright bouquets of tulips, dahlias and lilies of the valley to red rocks on the Mediterranean shore. Valtat is seen as a key figure in the move from Monet to Matisse, a "proto-Fauve" who exhibited with the Fauves in 1905. Our collection of fine art prints includes his flower paintings, still lifes, garden scenes, beaches and portraits.

About Louis Valtat

Louis Valtat was born in Dieppe on 8 August 1869 into a wealthy family of shipowners, and grew up in Versailles. Encouraged by his father, an amateur landscape painter, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1887, studying with Gustave Boulanger, Jules Lefebvre and Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, and then at the Académie Julian.

His fellow students included Albert André, who became a close friend, and Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard of the Nabis group, from whom he learned while staying independent. He opened his own studio in 1890 and first exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1893, where the critic Félix Fénéon noticed his street scenes. In 1894 he worked with Toulouse-Lautrec and André on decorations for the Théâtre de l'Œuvre.

Tuberculosis led him to spend autumns and winters on the Mediterranean, at Banyuls, Anthéor and Saint-Tropez, where his colour grew bolder. He cycled to visit Renoir at Cagnes and was a friend of Paul Signac, from whom he got a small motorcar in exchange for a painting. He showed with the Fauves at the Salon d'Automne of 1905. After 1914 he worked in Paris and near Rouen and Versailles, until glaucoma ended his painting in 1948. He died in Paris on 2 January 1952.

Style and Subjects

Valtat's early work uses the light touches of Impressionism and the dots of Pointillism, with outlined shapes. On the Mediterranean his colour became intense and his brushwork freer, with red rocks, violet seas and blazing skies, though he never went as far as the boldest Fauves.

His later paintings are mostly flowers, still lifes, gardens and scenes of everyday life: bunches of anemones, tulips and peonies in vases, apples on a plate, women in gardens, all painted with warm, glowing colour.

Famous Works

• On the Boulevard (1893). A Paris street scene from his first show, noticed by Félix Fénéon.
• Young Women in the Garden (1898), Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. Figures in a sunlit garden from his early years.
• Children's Games (1898). Children at play in bright colour.
• Woman on the Seashore (Anthéor) (1902), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A young woman on the rocks at Anthéor, painted in vivid colour.
• Red Rocks by the Sea (about 1903). The red rocks of the Mediterranean coast, a key "proto-Fauve" subject.
• Portrait of Ambroise Vollard (1908), Musée Léon-Dierx, Réunion. The famous dealer in a lively, colourful portrait.
• Pink Flowers with Yellow Hearts, Blue Vase (1913). A radiant bouquet typical of his flower paintings.

Decorating with Valtat Prints

Valtat's flower paintings are perfect for kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms, bringing instant colour to white or soft grey walls. A print such as Bouquet de muguet or Tulipes et anémones works beautifully above a sideboard or in a breakfast nook.

His seaside and garden scenes suit bedrooms, sunrooms and coastal homes, and pair well with natural wood and linen. Simple light frames let the colour shine.

FAQ

What art movement was Louis Valtat part of?

Valtat is associated with the Fauves and has been called a "proto-Fauve". He exhibited with them at the Salon d'Automne in 1905 but never adopted their most extreme treatment of colour and form.

Why is Valtat seen as a bridge between Monet and Matisse?

His work moved from Impressionist and Pointillist touches toward the bold, expressive colour of the Fauves, linking the two generations.

Who were Valtat's friends?

He was close to Albert André and knew Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Signac and Toulouse-Lautrec.

What did Louis Valtat paint?

He painted flowers, still lifes, landscapes, Mediterranean coasts and scenes of everyday life, and made many prints.

Where can I see Valtat's paintings?

Works are in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Norton Museum of Art in Florida.

Related Artists

• Albert André: his close friend from the Académie Julian
• Pierre Bonnard: fellow student at the Académie Julian
• Édouard Vuillard: fellow student at the Académie Julian
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir: the master he visited at Cagnes
• Henri Matisse: leader of the Fauves