Portrait of the Street Vendor, Ibiza 1932 by Louise Chémot

Ibiza 1930s. The artists Edouard and Louise Chimot are travelling in Spain. We know they are in Ibiza when Edouard draws a portrait of a young man he calls The Street Vendor. Louise paints an oil portrait of him, certainly dazzled by the extreme beauty of the man in the scarf. They are undoubtedly in Ibiza because the street vendor wears the traditional espardenyeras made of woven straw, worn only by the island's peasants and not in the other Balearic islands. It should be noted that the men's espardenyeras have an open toe like here, while those of the peasant women are closed. This painting will be exhibited in 1932 by Louise, who adds her maiden name to Edouard's, along with their address, the famous Ateliers Berthier where many artists of the time lived. A wonderful painting capturing the striking beauty of the man humbly selling peppers while sitting against a wall, wearing long white underpants beneath his work trousers, a Moorish scarf, a billowy shirt, straw sandals, and those incredible moon-like eyes. And the beautiful Catalan story! Large format: Height 73cm X 60cm.