ANTOINE VOLLON PAINTINGS FOR SALE & BIOGRAPHY

ANTOINE VOLLON

French, 1833–1900

BIOGRAPHY
“Antoine Vollon's best work exhibits verve, sincerity and, at times, a remarkable expressiveness which, taken together, are reminiscent of Camille Corot, albeit with more passion. His landscapes give the impression that they were composed with uncommon vigor - his skies reverberate with light or explode into a tempestuous chiaroscuro, and his trees and bushes appear to rustle in the breeze. His subject matter is wide-ranging - seascapes, animal portraits, human figures, genre compositions - and his seemingly innumerable still-lifes are exemplary in their faithful rendering of dead game, freshly-caught fish, plumage and shell, mother-of-pearl-like fins, mysterious glimpses of coral, the subtle gradations of horn and the glistening sheen of an animal's coat. Glassware, kitchen utensils, plate armor, crystal, porcelain, steel and copper - all serve as a pretext for a demonstration of his virtuosity and his facile mastery of light and reflection.

“In the space of forty years, Vollon produced a body of work that, although perhaps somewhat too old-fashioned for current tastes, nonetheless stands the test of time. His watercolors and drawings add further testimony to his range and ability. Vollon was awarded one distinction after another, including Salon medals in 1856, 1868 and 1869, and a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1878. He was an officer of the Légion d'Honneur and a member of the Institute. In 2002, Vollon's work featured in an exhibition entitled 'Men of Worth': Henri Fantin-Latour, Odilon Redon and their Contemporaries ('Hommes De Valeur' : Henri Fantin-Latour, Odilon Redon En Tijdgenoten) held at Otterlo's Kröller-Müller Museum” (Benezit, Dictionary of Artists, Gründ, 2006).

Museum Collections:
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
National Gallery, London
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Royal Collection, London

Mark Murray Fine Paintings is a New York gallery specializing in buying and selling 19th century and early 20th century artwork.