Artist: Neillot, Louis

Louis Neillot (1898–1973) worked at the artists' colony La Ruche in Paris from 1928 to 1934 and was given a major retrospective at the Salon des Indépendants in 1932, where he was awarded the prestigious 'Prix Blumenthal'. His paintings were regularly exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Tuileries in Paris, and international acclaim led to major shows at the International Gallery in Chicago, the Gallery of Contemporary Art in New York, as well as in Detroit, Los Angeles, Berlin, Toronto, and Brussels.

Neillot is considered the last of the Fauve artists, who favored juxtaposing areas of pure, saturated color to add vibrancy and rhythmic energy to his compositions. He studied the works of Post Impressionists, and was especially indebted to Cezanne, whose palette of earth tonalities and highly structured compositions greatly influenced Neillot. His colleague Valtat claimed that Neillot's paintings were "energetic, vibrant yet poetic, visually captivating yet deeply engaging."

Still Life with Apples — a painting by Neillot, signed and dated lower right, presented in our collection. In his still lifes and landscapes, he uses a lively palette mixed with a rather loose touch. His resolutely Fauvist work also bears witness to his admiration for Cézanne, as evidenced by the apples occupying the still life presented here, whose round shape reacts to that of the plate, the bowl, or the jug. This concordance of shapes gives the composition a perfect balance.

Bibliography MANIGAND (Colette) and CONSTANTIN (Juliette). Louis Neillot, catalogue raisonné, supplement 1. 2002. Reproduced under No. 1344/s