Alex LIZAL (1878-1915) - Lot 12

Alex LIZAL (1878-1915) Paris, the lively Quai Henri IV, April 1899 Oil on board, dated lower left. Signed on the back on a label. Paint supplier's label "A. Grézy à Bordeaux". 24 x 33 cm After arriving in Paris in December 1898, Alex Lizal briefly studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme before joining Albert Maignan's studio in 1900, along with Georges Bergès. Maignan, who created the frescoes for the Train Bleu and, more recently, the Opéra Comique, inspired Lizal to take a greater interest in "the art of tomorrow". From this apprenticeship, he would participate in the creation of sets for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, for which Maignan had just been commissioned. Dated April 1899, our work is very early in the artist's life, and already reveals a certain naturalist taste, in complete opposition to Gérôme's photographic reality. The working-class world already seems to be a favorite subject for the artist's small formats.