Post-impressionist painting 1920 beach of GUÉTHARY Basque Country - watercolour

Watercolour on heavy paper immortalising the seaside atmosphere of the interwar period. This regionalist outdoor work signed by Jean AUROUX and located in GUÉTHARY on the Basque coast presents a charm typical of the 1920s. This lively summer scene depicts a bustling beach with its traditional striped bathing tents. These tents or beach cabins are characteristic of the 1920s. Their pointed structures represented on the sand are particularly emblematic of seaside bathing from that era. They are ephemeral architecture often set up for the summer season by local renters, different from today’s fixed wooden cabins. Their pyramid shape allowed them to withstand strong winds and ocean breezes while maximising interior space for changing. At that time, the use of the beach changed, with the bourgeoisie and the first wealthy tourists settling in for long periods to shield themselves from the sun and wind. These large tents served as outdoor lounges and discreet changing rooms for donning the era's bathing costumes, which were made of covering wool knit. This composition employs an expressive painting technique favouring a palette dominated by blues for the ocean and the cloudy sky, contrasting with warm touches on the beach. One can observe a textured, impasto, and vibrant touch that seeks to capture the variations of atmospheric light on the Basque coast with a changing cloudy sky and the shimmering of the Atlantic Ocean. Rather than a rigorous academic realism, the artist favours a spontaneous approach, characteristic of local post-impressionist painters born and settled in their region of origin, where the brushstroke takes precedence over meticulous detail. Frame dimensions: 42 X 32 cm. Watercolour dimensions: 32 X 24 cm.