Edouard Léon Cortès
1882-1969 | French

Le Théâtre du Chatelet in Winter

Signed “Edouard Cortès” (lower right)
Oil on canvas

Celebrated as the "Parisian Poet of Painting," Edouard Léon Cortès was a master at capturing the timeless energy and beauty of the City of Lights. This winter scene of the Théâtre du Chatelet is no exception. Cortès depicts the historic thoroughfare of the 1st arrondissement on a winter evening, as vehicles and pedestrians alike traverse streets covered in freshly fallen snow.

Cortès' canvases capture the very essence of the Belle Époque, a period in Paris when fashion, art and culture flourished with boundless energy. With bold splashes of color, Cortès crafts a nostalgic narrative, documenting the seasons' progression at one of the city's best-known monuments. The dimly lit street is aglow with the golden light of lanterns and storefronts, each contributing to the romance of the Parisian setting.

Born just outside of Paris, Cortès enjoyed a rich artistic heritage. His father, Antonio Cortès, was an artist in the circle of the Barbizon school, having moved to France after serving as a painter at the Spanish Royal Court. Cortès' elder brother and sister were also artists and followed the plein air tenets of the Barbizon style alongside their father. Other famed artists flocked to the picturesque town of Langly where Cortès was born, including Maximilian Luce, Camille Pissaro and Lucien Pissarro, among other celebrities of the Impressionist period. Personal friends of the family, these painters would have a profound influence over the young Cortès, who flourished in this richly creative environment.

He exhibited his first work in 1899 at the Société des Artistes Francaise in Paris where he was met with excellent reviews. Capturing the magic of Paris during the Belle Époque, his canvases soon garnered worldwide attention, particularly in Canada and America. Though he painted the same streets time and time again, each work is unique in its narrative, perspective and atmosphere. Just as his Parisian scenes brought him success during his lifetime, they continue to captivate art lovers today.