Luigi Loir Catalogue Raisonne
by Noe Willer
Published by Classic Art Gallery, Carmel CA, & Nebojsa Calic
"The beginning of the 20lh Century, saw the dawn of a new innovative
world. From the 'Belle Epoque' to the era of industrialisation, society
in full evolution profited from Luigi Loir's undisputable talent. His
universal language tinted with poetry, humour and nostalgia expresses
itself in a parisian street scene by night, a landscape in the rain,
a sketch, a picture for children, and illustration, a poster....."
Luigi Loir was not only an influential artist, but a prominent figure
in turn of the century Parisian society, appearing beside Sarah Benhardt,
Felix Faure, and the King of Sweden in the album of Contemporary Figures'
first edited in 1893.
From the end of the Empire in 1870 until the First World War, Paris
enjoyed a period of economic expansion known as the 'Belle Epoque'.
Loir lovingly documented this period with his extraordinary street scenes
of the city and its suburbs. With a gift for creating intimate and authentic
depictions of the characters in working class quarters, as well as the
boulevards, cafes and restaurants of fashionable society, Loir became
a renowned artist, appreciated by the critics, and able to live comfortably
from his art. He showed a fascination for the atmosphere in winter.
It's mists, dark skies, rain and snow, and the bustle and theatrical
lighting of the boulevards in the twilight, and at night.
Although Luigi Loir had a preference for a brisk and spontaneous manner,
which leant his work an impressionistic quality, he was capable of precise
detail and touches of color. It was this combination which distinguished
him from his contemporaries, and created the characteristic atmosphere
of Loirs's pictures.
Classic Art Gallery is pleased to be able to offer the first volume
to detail the life and works of this rare and talented artist. Illustrated
with over 300 color and 80 black and white reproductions of Loir's work,
it is an essential aid in the study of french fine art of the late 19th
and early 20th Centuries.
Available only from:
Classic Art Gallery
P.O.Box 1462
Carmel, Ca 93921
U.S.A.
Tel: 831.625.0464
Fax: 831.625.5969
art@classicartgallery.com
