Certificate of authenticity:
Léon Louis Antoine Tanzi (Paris 1846- Blida 1913)
"Children on the Path, Argenteuil"
oil on canvas (45 x 81 cm)
signed, dated and located lower right
L.Tanzi 1879 Argenteuil (Mazagran)
Léon Tanzi, painter and illustrator, was born in Paris on May 24, 1846, and died in Blida (Algeria) on August 26, 1913.
He was a student at the Académie Julian in Paris under William Bouguereau (1825-1905), Jules Lefebvre (1834-1912), and Benjamin-Constant (1845-1902). The artist often worked in the south of France (Provence) and in the surroundings of the "Gorges du Tarn".
Léon Tanzi debuted at the "Salon des Artistes Français" in 1877 and regularly participated in this prestigious event until 1912.
He also exhibited at the "Salon de l’Union Artistique" in Toulouse (1894), at the International Exhibition of Toulouse in 1887, at the "Exposition de peintres orientalistes français" in Paris in 1896, at the "Salon des refusés" in Paris in 1873, and at the "Salon d’automne" (1903).
(see attached list of exhibited works)
In 1893, Tanzi, commissioned by the Government, undertook a journey to Algeria and Tunisia.
Tanzi participated in the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1889, exhibiting "Une mare à Valvin" and "La mare de Courtbuisson"; at the International Exposition of Brussels in 1897, exhibiting "Ravin de Telemly (Algérie)" and "Vaux de Cernay"; and at the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1900, exhibiting "Saint-Cucufa".
Works in public and private collections:
Paris, Musée d’Orsay: The Evening, 130 × 198 cm.
Musée Carnavalet: The ruins of the Château de Saint Cloud, 1891
Musée du Luxembourg: The pond of Courtbuisson, in the evening
Oslo: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design: Portrait of a Woman, 1879
Marseille: View of Frioul, deposit of the National Fund for Contemporary Art.
Montfort-l’Amaury, Musée Maurice-Ravel Le Belvédère: Portrait of Maurice Ravel as a child, 1886.
Musée d’Alger: Gorges du Tarn
Private Collection E. Canigiani, Quarrata (PT), Italy: Gallant Scene
Awards:
Salon des artistes français:
1886: Medal of Honor;
1887: Jean Richepin, portrait; La Mare de Courtbuisson,
3rd Class Medal;
Silver Medal at the Universal Exposition of 1889 and 1900
Gold Medal at the Antwerp Exposition
In 1901, Tanzi was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Description
The painting described here depicts two children in a landscape of Argenteuil (Mazagran). The countryside opens up to the viewer with an immediate and luminous naturalness, typical of Impressionist painting.
The two children on the path introduce a delicate and spontaneous human presence. Their figures, barely sketched, seem captured in an authentic moment of quiet and play.
In the sky, clouds drift gently, diffusing a soft luminosity that caresses the fields and hills. It is a changing light that does not rigidly model the forms but allows them to vibrate in space, immersed in continuous tonal variation.
The clear and winding path becomes the poetic axis of the composition, leading the viewer's eye into the depth, creating a refined perspective effect.
The entire scene is pervaded by a vibrant atmosphere, in which nature and everyday life blend harmoniously. The light brushstrokes, the damp greens of the fields, the azure transparencies of the sky, and the light reflections of the path create an equilibrium of extraordinary visual freshness.
The painting thus conveys not only a place but the very sensation of the air, the light, and the slow passage of time on a country day.
Bibliography:
"DICTIONNAIRE DES PEINTRES SCULPTEURS DESSINATEURS ET GRAVEURS"
E. Benezit Vol. 10 (p.73)
"DICTIONNAIRE DES PETITS MAITRES DE LA PEINTURE 1820-1920"
Schurr & Cabanne
Les Editions de l’Amateur (p.688)
Condition:
The painting is in good condition of preservation: (original canvas with a small conservation restoration in the lower left).
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