Eugène Corneau

Corneau’s work shows an engagement with the Post-Impressionists and most clearly with Cezanne’s Provençal landscapes. A flatness and geometry give this piece a subtle abstraction, while its peaceful stillness and groundedness evoke the enduring permanence of rural life.

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Eugène Corneau moved to Paris in 1901 at the age of seven, spending his childhood and youth in the capital. His artistic talent earned him the prestigious Villa Abd-el-Tif scholarship in 1925, which enabled a two-year stay in Algiers and extensive travel throughout North Africa. This sparked a lifelong passion for travel; he frequently painted the landscapes of Brittany and Provence, capturing the bustling harbours and narrow streets of historic coastal villages. Corneau also composed numerous domestic interiors in an intimate style strongly reminiscent of the Nabis. An accomplished engraver, he illustrated several literary works including La Fontaine’s Le Songe de Vaux and Joseph Conrad’s Typhoon.

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After making his Paris debut in 1918, Corneau exhibited regularly at the Salon d’Automne, becoming a member in 1921 and a committee member in 1953. He also showed at the Salon des Tuileries from 1923, and in 1937, was commissioned to decorate the Berry-Nivernais pavilion at the Exposition Universelle. Beyond Paris, his work was exhibited extensively on the international stage, most notably in Brussels, New York, and Venice.