Lot 384 Dα

In 1886 Ferdinand du Puigaudeau journeyed to the town of Pont-Aven in southern Brittany, where he befriended the painters Charles Laval and Paul Gauguin. These had set themselves the goal of developing a school, together with other artists, that would seek to overcome Impressionism. In 1889 Puigaudeau journeyed to Belgium for the first time, where he met with James Ensor, Jan Toorop and other members of the group 'Les XX'. It is presumably due to their influence that Puigaudeau's work is to be placed stylistically between Symbolism and Impressionism. In 1895 Puigaudeau once again moved to Pont-Aven for three years. Here, inspired by the village festivals of Brittany, he created atmospherically evocative paintings in luminous tonalities and featuring an often mysterious and poetic underlying tone. Above all, Puigaudeau strove to capture not only the moonlight but also the light of the lanterns in their subtlest nuances. His connection with the renowned art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel was important for the career of the artist: Durand-Ruel repeatedly exhibited his work in his Parisian gallery from the early 1890s until 1903.