VICTOR TARDIEU (1870-1937). - Lot 105

VICTOR TARDIEU (1870-1937). Director of the Indochina School of Fine Arts from 1925 to 1937. Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Prix de l'Indochine in 1920. Ambulance at the Front. Circa 1914. Framed oil on panel. Unsigned. Long handwritten note in ink on the back, specifying, in addition to biographical details, the subject and date "Grande Guerre 1914. Ambulance at the Front, done while Victor Tardieu was posted to the front with escadrille 25". The abbreviation H.C. following the signature indicates that this pochade was produced "Hors Concours". Dimensions: 13, 8x18 cm. Provenance: Collection of Monsieur Gigot, Caline Tardieu's dentist in Villiers-sous-Grez, and probably a gift from her. In the family by descent. Victor Tardieu's correspondence often refers to the pilots of Escadrille 25 during the First World War, with whom he shared his daily life at the Front, and for whom he made some of these planchettes. It should be remembered that most of these small panels were lost when Victor Tardieu's workshop burned down, making these 2 panels a moving testimony. We would like to thank Madame Alix Turolla-Tardieu, the artist's successor, for the biographical details she provided.