Two blogs ago, I wrote of a little-known but highly gifted female impressionist painter. (Morisot) This time, I'd like to tell you of a man of the same period who was also very talented but is not well known today - Maximilien Luce (1858-1941).Ever heard of him? Well I hadn't either until I had to write an essay on an impressionist painter. Knowing the teacher would be inundated with papers on Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh, I researched and found Luce.
Luce was a wonderful and interesting find - painter, lithographer and anarchist. He painted landscapes and urban life. (Along with Seurat and Signac he originated pointillism - a technique where small dots of color optically blend to create an image. )Luce was also known for painting subjects of social realism - war, citizen revolts,
industry's effects on people and the land, and the plight of the those out of power. These were the images that would lead to his arrest, trial and conviction. (Google: "Trial of the Thirty")However, after release Luce continued his political resistance in his paintings albeit more subtly. At age 76, he was elected President of the Société des Artistes Indépendants. He soon resigned in protest against the society's policy to restrict the admission of Jewish artists.
He always stood by what he believed. Could this be why we know so little of him in the history of Impressionism? What do you think?
I was trying to think if there are any political painters today or has it all gone to the news photographers... Marsha
ReplyDeleteI believe you're right. Society still doesn't take kindly to "rabble rousers". Sally
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about him being slighted because of his political stance. Those paintings are fabulous that you showed... thanks, as always for sharing your knowledge... Sandi
ReplyDeleteThanks to you all for your comments. It seems that popular history has little space for many in the past who shaped it... especially if they were either female or if their opinion didn't match popular politics. We need to stay conscious and not let history/herstory ever repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteQuoting Edmund Burke, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." R-Atencio
I enjoyed the painting of Notre Damn. I've seen it done many different ways, but I enjoyed his pointillism. As far as socialist paintings go in modern days, do pictures of celebrities count? JK, I've seen some pretty recent hispanic paintings of socialism done at the galleries in Denver...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I never heard of this artist before. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Luce but now respect him as artist and rebel. Connie
ReplyDeleteVery good stuff! More "muscular" than most of the impressionists. The painting of the shirtless workers looks like the precursor to the Depression era social realism kind of thing...
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point. It does seem like a precursor not only to the Depression social realism, but also to the propaganda of WWII.
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