Pierre-Paul Girieud
San Gimignano
1907
Oil on artist's board 32.8 x 40.8 cm Framed. Signed and dated 'Girieud 1907' in red lower left. Inscribed in pencil by an unknown hand verso. - Minor retouches.
Pierre-Paul Girieud, almost forgotten nowadays, had a decisive influence on the painting of the artists of the Neue Künstlervereinigung München. From about 1906, he maintained close, amicable contacts with Alexei Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, in 1910 Girieud joined the artists' association and participated in its exhibitions.
On the occasion of Girieud's journey to San Gimignano in Tuscany in 1907, views of the impressive silhouette of the city were created, such as the work presented here (cf. also the very similar work San Gimignano, 1907, in: Der Blaue Reiter und das Neue Bild. Von der "Neuen Künstlervereinigung München" zum "Blauen Reiter", exhib. cat. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich 1999, cat. 224 with colour illus. 148). They probably also inspired Alexander Kanoldt who visited the town in 1913 (see: Alexander Kanoldt - Ein Klassiker der Neuen Sachlichkeit, exhib. cat. Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 2001, p. 33).
Provenance
Formerly collection Dr Hans Koch, Düsseldorf/Randegg; Succession Koch, Upper Bavaria