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Hans Seiler
Threshing at La Roque-Gageac in Dordogne in 1948

1948

$3,638.19
£2,723.81
€3,840VAT Included
CA$5,135.85
A$5,294.99
CHF 2,982.67
MX$67,755.93
NOK 34,416.89
SEK 35,998.05
DKK 24,406.78

About the Item

Hans SEILER (Neuchâtel 1907 – 1986) Threshing at La Roque-Gageac Oil on canvas H. 38 cm ; W. 55 cm Signed lower left; titled on the back. 1948 Provenance: Artist’s studio; by descent. Born in Switzerland, Hans Seiler spent his childhood in Bern, where his father practiced medicine. By the age of 17, he was already passionate about drawing, carrying sketchbooks that he filled with drawings. The curator of the city museum, having seen his work, advised him to pursue formal artistic training. Seiler traveled to Lyon and enrolled in the city’s School of Fine Arts, joining the sculpture department under the guidance of a former student of Rodin. She soon encouraged him to strike out on his own and move to Paris. In 1927, he entered the Académie Ranson, where Roger Bissière taught him painting. This artistic lineage would remain evident in Seiler’s work throughout his life. Having become friends with his mentor, he met Marcel Gromaire, who would also become a pillar of his artistic life and a steadfast friend. In 1934, he settled in Chennevières-sur-Marne with his wife; then, on the eve of the war, he purchased a charming house in the Périgord region, in La Roque-Gageac. Overlooking the Dordogne River and offering a breathtaking view from its terrace, this home became a sanctuary and a hub of family life for the painter. He created a great number of works there, painting both at the foot of the cliffs and from within the house itself. From the 1930s onwards, Seiler traveled extensively through Finistère and Normandy, and later visited the Netherlands, drawn to its flat landscapes and heavy, dramatic skies. He discovered Spain in 1978, returning every autumn until 1986 to create magnificent works depicting fortified towns and arid mountain landscapes. Numerous exhibitions have been dedicated to his art—both during his lifetime and posthumously—notably at the Musée Bonnat in Bayonne and at various galleries in Paris and Switzerland. The most recent exhibition took place at the Meudon Museum in 2007 to mark the centenary of his birth. Stylistically, Seiler’s work plays with light—balancing shadows and illuminated areas—often defined by lines that create a grid-like structure across the composition. While his earlier works featured high contrast and vivid colors, the final fifteen years of his life saw a shift toward light, pastel hues; this approach lent the landscapes a fresh perspective, unlike anything previously seen in the Périgord region. This canvas, painted at La Roque-Gageac during the summer of 1948, depicts one of the most beautiful scenes of a bygone era of rural agriculture: the threshing process. Following the harvest, sheaves of grain were gathered on a packed-earth threshing floor and beaten with flails to separate the grain from the stalks and husks. By the early 20th century, mechanical threshers had begun to appear; these machines fed in the sheaves and used rotating drums to beat them, causing the grain to fall into waiting sacks. The painting captures figures busily at work beneath a scorching sun, rendered through Seiler’s use of ochre tones. Although the exact location is not specified, the scene is set in La Roque-Gageac, near the home of a town councilor—newly elected in November 1947—whose ceremonial "May tree" had been planted there shortly before. The "May tree" tradition is unique to the Périgord region and a few neighboring departments; it involves hoisting a tree—adorned with tricolor flags carried by guests—in front of the homes of all municipal councilors. Each councilor takes a turn hosting local residents for a "friendship drink"—naturally, during the month of May. Envoyer des commentaires
  • Creator:
    Hans Seiler (1907 - 1986, Swiss, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1948
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)Width: 21.66 in (55 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    BELEYMAS, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1857218631102

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