Provenance
Private collection, Paris
Exhibitions
Exposition Universelle et Internationale, Ghent, 6 April – 31 October 1913, no. 167
Fête Foraine à Montmartre is a perfect example of Louis Abel-Truchet’s richly painted Parisian scenes. In this painting, the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the brightly lit spinning carousel and the majestic facade of the Sacré-Coeur, which shines from the top of the hill.
Born in Versailles in 1857, Abel-Truchet began his career at the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris. Alongside other notable artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain, he studied there under the tuition of Julien Lefebvre and Benjamin Constant. From 1891, he began to exhibit at numerous salons, including the famous Salon d’Automne, the Salon des Artistes Français and the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Аbel-Truchet developed an Impressionistic style, using vigorous brushwork to depict the excitement and atmosphere of modern life.
Abel-Truchet is well-known for his elegant paintings capturing the life of Belle Époque Paris with its cafés, theatres and shops. Like so many other artists, he was particularly drawn to the artist’s quarter of Montmartre, which characterised the artistic life of the city: his images of cafe-concerts, the Place Pigalle, the Folies-Bergère and the Moulin Rouge have become part of popular culture through widespread reproductions.
Works by the artist can be found in major museum collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Мusée Carnavalet, Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Pau, France, Musée de Grenoble, France, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Le Petit Palais, Paris, and the Smithsonian Museums, Washington, DC.
