Painting of Paris on the banks of the Seine by Iwoa Haguinoya around 1920

Very pretty winter view of the banks of the seine in paris painted by the japanese artist iwoa haguinoya (1881-1979). Original oil on canvas, signed lower right "haguinoya". Gilded frame with scalloped shapes. Dimensions: 33 X 46 cm (visible), 40 X 54 cm (with frame). Modeled after artists from the ecole de paris, such as léonard foujita, iwoa haguinoya (1881-1979) left his native japan to settle in paris, and benefit from the intellectual ferment that characterized the world capital of art in the first half of the 20th century. There, haguinoya specialized in picturesque views of the banks of the seine. Here, we can recognize the clock tower of the palais de la cité, on the left, and the pont au change, in the distance. In the foreground, the banks of the seine, animated by a steam barge and a wash-house boat, welcome a few onlookers. The characters are sketched with a sure gesture. Haguinoya uses a free and fiery touch, heir to the avant-gardes. He adopts an innovative angle of view, with a perspective emphasized by means of the sharp diagonals that draw the banks of the seine on either side of the composition. The effect thus obtained is reminiscent of the plunging perspectives of albert marquet, for whom paris was one of his favorite subjects. The palette is composed of muted tones, with its gradations of brown, gray and white. The line is pure and simplified. With an astonishing economy of means, the artist delivers a moving representation of the paris of yesteryear.