Louis Valtat
1869-1952 | French

Panneau de fleurs

Signed “L.V.” (lower left)
Oil on board

Vibrantly hued with verdant greens, bold blues and crimson reds and pinks, this Post-Impressionist oil on canvas by French painter Louis Valtat features the artist’s signature style and palette. An all-over composition of brightly hued flowers, Panneau de fleurs is a refreshing take on the traditional still life category. The well-balanced painting showcases the artist's technical skills in balance and composition while still featuring the vivid colors for which his artwork is so beloved.

Born in Normandy in 1869, Valtat enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts at the age of 17, where he studied under the great French figure painters Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre. There, he began his association with several artists who would influence the trajectory of his career, including Henri Matisse, Édouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Signac and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, with whom he remained lifelong friends. He was awarded the Jauvin d’Attainville prize in 1890 and exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in 1893.

Renoir introduced Valtat’s works to Ambroise Vollard, the renowned art dealer. Vollard identified Valtat as one of the most exciting painters working in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. On Renoir’s advice, Vollard made an agreement with Valtat to purchase almost all of the artist’s work for the first decade of the 20th century (1902 – 1912), becoming his dealer and agent.

The relationship was a fruitful one; Vollard went on to organize Valtat’s first solo exhibition at his gallery and submitted Valtat’s works to other exhibitions in Paris. In 1927, Louis Valtat was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, which was considered the premier order of France. Throughout his career, Valtat remained true to his unique style. He was never completely associated with a particular art movement but was influenced by many. Today, his works are found in important collections around the globe, including the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, the Musée des Beaux-Art in Bordeaux and many others.

This work is illustrated in the catalogue raisonné of Louis Valtat by Jean Valtat.

Painted 1907