Early 20th Century oil on board French fauvist landscape by Paul Guillaume. The painting is signed bottom left, Guillaume Paul, and presented in a patinated wood frame.

This colourful and charming artwork captures a serene and expansive landscape, dominated by the rolling hills of the countryside. The painter skilfully uses a rich palette of earthy tones, creating a vivid tapestry of orange, green, and brown that suggests a warm, late afternoon glow. Towering gracefully, a row of cypress trees punctuates the scene, leading the eye towards rustic farmhouses nestled among the hills. In the background, a majestic mountain range emerges, softly shrouded in mist, adding depth and a sense of tranquillity. The sky above is a symphony of soft blues and warm pinks, enhancing the atmosphere of peacefulness and resilience. The artist’s attention to detail and masterful use of colour harmonize beautifully to evoke a timeless depiction of rural beauty and pastoral charm. This composition stands out for its ability to convey both stillness and vibrancy, inviting viewers into its serene embrace.

A key figure in the Paris art market in the early 20th century, Paul Guillaume was introduced to the artistic elite in 1911 by his friend and mentor Guillaume Apollinaire. Very involved in the recognition of avant-garde painters, he quickly became a renowned art collector and dealer. His interest in African art blossomed at the same time, echoing the aesthetic explorations of the artists he championed, including Amadeo Modigliani, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. In a letter to Tristan Tzara dated March 13, 1916, he introduced himself as follows: “I also do a lot of painting: I make paintings and I defend and support a few friends”. Paul Guillaume's work remains relatively unknown. His self-taught artistic practice remains on the fringe of his main activity and reveals another facet of his personality. It breaks with the boldness and eccentricity of the paintings of those close to him, as perceived by the public at the beginning of the twentieth century. Indeed, the artist, who defined himself as a Sunday painter, produced small, intimate pictures far removed from any avant-garde dimension. His still lifes, with their simple, moving realism, bear witness to moments of suspended life.

At the height of his fame, Paul Guillaume died prematurely at the age of 43. He remains famous for having created an unprecedented and visionary dialogue between modern paintings and the so-called “primitive” arts. Part of his personal collection, acquired under usufruct from his widow, Domenica Walter-Guillaume, née Juliette Lacaze, is now part of the Musée de l'Orangerie's renowned collection.

His paintings were exhibited including at the Galerie Danthon in Paris in November 1928, alongside some of the great names in contemporary painting and most latterly in London in 1934 at a monographic exhibition at the Mayor Gallery. The exhibition, organized a few months before the artist's death by a group of young English poets, featured 29 “vacation paintings”.

A still life with a plate of fruit, dated 1922 and referenced under number 2 in the 1934 exhibition catalogue, was acquired by the Musée de l'Orangerie in 2018. © Aurelie Biot-Worms