French painter (Poligny, Jura - Paris)

"Fruits and pitcher, synthetist still life" hst sbd 31.5 × 42

Oil on canvas
Signed lower right Louis ROY (1862-1907)

Gauguin's lesson

- In the spring of 1889 Louis Roy presented, at the Volpini exhibition of the Impressionists and Synthetists group, seven paintings, proof of the artist's close bond with Gauguin and his entourage. Our painting is quite remarkable in the analysis of the work. Illuminated by an overhead light, all the components of the still life stand out in a perfect partition between shadow and light. The balance and modernity of the painting are accentuated by the brush-effect treatment of the fruits, the pitcher, the basket and the table and make this painting an exceptional representation of the aesthetics of Pont-Aven. 

Young Nabis were impressed by this “new style” and its representatives, and art historian and critic André Mellerio applied the description of “idealist movement in painting” to these artists.