Hestaux, Louis (1858-1919), Dawn near Nancy, 1907

Louis Hestaux(1858 Metz - 1919 Nancy). Dawn near Nancy. Watercolour on paper, 50 x 33 cm, signed lower right "L. Hestaux. [190]7".

- Mystic winter fog -

The picture does not show an avenue, as one might think at first glance, but a row of trees rooted in a misty nothingness that dissolves into a diffuse atmosphere of colour as the picture deepens, appearing as a visibly fading variation of one and the same tree. The individual trunks form a strict row at the bottom, each unfolding its different individuality as it gently swings to the left, before taking on its own form. At the same time, the visually interlocking branches have a strong ornamental character: The upper branch, bent away from the trunk of the first tree to the right, curves back into the picture like a large, naturally grown ornamental volte face, overlapping the diffuse treetop behind it and connecting with the branchwork of the next tree.
This ornamental play of nature takes place in an ephemeral, dreamlike vision of the landscape, carried by the pinks and blues of the still misty wintry morning light. Yet the appearance of the line of trees is not entirely diffuse; as its contours become denser towards the front, it acquires an almost haptic presence. The phenomena that appear deepen the melancholy character of the picture: the defoliated tree is marked by knots, cuts and splits, but nevertheless develops its own natural ornamental life in the pale green-blue shimmer characteristic of Symbolism.
With a mastery trained by Émile Gallé, Hestaux develops key themes of Symbolism and Art Nouveau from the motif in a way that seems quite natural.

About the artist

Louis Hestaux, who had been attending evening classes at the Ecole Municipale de Dessin run by Théodore-Louis Devilly since 1872, joined Emile Gallé's studio in Nancy in 1876 as a draughtsman and designer and became one of his closest collaborators. After Gallé's death, Hestaux took over as artistic director, a position he held until 1914, when he moved to Paris.
In collaboration with Victor Prouvé and Emile Gallé, he created sensational individual pieces such as the table 'Le Rhin' and the jardinière 'Flora marina, Flora exotica', which were presented at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889. In addition to his creative work for the Atelier Gallé and his independent design activities, Hestaux was also a painter - as this watercolour impressively demonstrates - who devoted himself primarily to landscape painting.

"From an early age, Hestaux was a virtuoso draughtsman, gifted with a keen sense of decoration and a sensitive feeling for nature, which easily compensated for his lack of academic training. [...] In addition to Symbolist and Art Nouveau elements, he absorbed the influences of Japonism, with which he was intensely involved and of which he was considered the main exponent at the Ecole de Nancy".

Rosemarie L. Tovell in Saur's General Dictionary of Artists (vol. 72, p. 516).

Selection of public collections holding works by Louis Hestaux:

Hida Takayama Museum of Art Gifu , Museum de l'Ecole de Nancy.

Selective Bibliography

Ladislas Harcos: Peintres & graveurs lorrains. 1833 - 1980, Nancy 1991.

Pierre Kjellberg: Le mobilier du XXe siècle. Dictionnaire des créateurs, Paris 1994.

Christian Debize: Émile Gallé & l' école de Nancy, Metz 1998.

Renate Ulmer (Hg.): Art Noveau. Symbolismus und Jugendstil in Frankreich, Darmstadt - Berlin 1999.

François Loyer u.a.: L’Ecole de Nancy, 1889-1909. Art nouveau et industries d’art, Paris 1999.

Roselyne Bouvier u.a.: Muses de l'Ecole des Nancy, 2001.