The Naïve Masters at Musée Maillol

Kate left this week and it is very quiet around the apartment with just the two of us. Kelly has been working hard on his book and I have been visiting a museum every day since she left, especially those that have special exhibits that end this month or next.

Today I went to the Musée Maillol. It was founded in 1995 by Dina Vierny, who was a model for the artist Aristide Maillol. She later became an art dealer and collector. 

Musée Maillol

The Grand Naïve Masters

The museum had a special exhibit of Naïve or "Primitive Modern" artists associated with the style of Henri Rousseau. The tribute painting below shows Henri Rousseau ascending in the air toward heaven to his rightful place among the great artists Ingres, Delacroix, Courbet, Cézanne and Renoir.

By René Rimbaut

I loved the paintings of Sacré Cœur by Louis Vivin.

 

My favorite of the artists was Camille Bombois. His colors where deep and rich.

Girl with a Doll

Vase with Flowers

Flowers

Still Life with a Doll

Still Life with Lobster

André Bauchant was the first Naïve artist that Dina Vierny collected. He was a gardener and operated a nursery in the Loire Valley. He was called up for World War I and when he returned, his nursery was ruined so he had to find work on local farms. This background gave him a good background in drawing flowers and plants. In his self portrait from 1938 he represents himself as a gardener standing behind a monumental flowerbed he created.  Behind him are several places that were dear to him--his childhood home, his home town and the pool in the garden he created at of one of his homes.

The Final Bouquet
Self Portrait
by Bauchant

The museum also had some paintings, drawings and sculptures by Maillol. Below are some plaster casts of his statues in his Atelier:

Maillol's Atelier

It was a nice little museum and this is just a small taste of what I saw today.