Description:

Charles Giroux
French/Louisiana, 1828-1885
Bayou Landscape
oil on canvas
Unsigned, 20 in. x 16 in., framed with artist and title plaque, overall 25 1/4 in. x 21 1/2 in. x 1 3/4 in.

Note: Though mystery surrounds the early background of French-born painter Charles Giroux, his rare surviving works record many aspects of the rural Louisiana landscape dating from around 1860 to 1885. He was last mentioned in the Daily Picayune for October 25, 1885, as well as in a list of the New Orleans Artists' Association for the same year. The exceptional qualities of his artwork were recognized in the Daily Picayune article: "The work is remarkably well finished. The same careful study and painstaking care that characterizes all Mr. Giroux's works is apparent in every line and shadow." The same article noted the artist's fascination with creating landscapes with an extensive use of vanishing perspective.

Giroux's compositional style and color palette are considered unique among his contemporaries in the Louisiana landscape genre, and his works are distinguished by their romantic hues, smooth brushwork, luminous skies, and powerful recession of composition. These traits are all seen in the important work offered here which boasts a sunny, bright blue sky starkly contrasted against the shadowy darkness of the moss-draped tree and white, cloudy horizon. While nineteenth century Louisiana landscapes often lean gloomy and mysterious, this painting by Giroux showcases the rich and varied textures of the life cycle of the bayou from the leaning dead tree in the far distance to the richly verdant, moss-covered oaks and rusty leaves of the brush along the shore. Life is abundant in the stippled texture of the running water and the striking speckles of colorful flowers that grow in the shade of the shoreline. This canvas proves a stunning ode to Louisiana's unique and alluring terrain.

  • Dimensions: 20 in. x 16 in.
  • Medium: oil on canvas
  • Condition: Relined; multiple campaigns of restoration throughout; toning to varnish layer; craquelure and alligatoring throughout; flaking and paint loss throughout, particularly along all 4 edges; scattered marks, nicks, abrasions and accretions throughout; buckling at top right corner; frame has paint loss along left, inner edge of frame; separation at upper left and lower right corners; holes from nails/screws on all 4 sides at corners.

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November 22, 2024 11:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

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