École valencienne (XX), signé Monleón - Le Sentier des souvenirs - NO RESERVE

Valencian School of the 20th Century – Signed Monleón Rural landscape with figure – Oil on panel Provenance: private collection, Valencia. Interesting oil painting on panel from the Valencian school of the 20th century, signed “Monleón” in the lower right corner, depicting an evocative rural landscape with traditional architecture, abundant vegetation, and a figure walking along a path. The work stands out for its Mediterranean luminosity, the richness of its greens, and the spontaneity of its brushwork, characteristics that allow it to be related to the Valencian landscape tradition and to the impressionist and post-impressionist currents that influenced regional painting during the 20th century. The composition features a dirt road that gently ascends toward a group of rural buildings, partially obscured by lush vegetation. In the foreground appears a backwards-looking figure, dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers, whose presence introduces a human and narrative dimension to the landscape. The painting combines a direct observation of the surroundings with a free pictorial interpretation, in which light, color, and atmosphere take on special prominence. Description of the work The scene represents a rural corner of Mediterranean appearance, organized around a dirt road that enters the vegetation and leads toward traditional constructions. On the left sector several light-faced buildings appear, covered by reddish and ochre roofs. The constructions display simple architecture, with compact volumes and whitewashed surfaces, reminiscent of rural buildings characteristic of many Valencian landscapes. The artist renders the façades with brushstrokes of whites, bluish grays, and small violet nuances, suggesting the effects of light and shadows. The roofs introduce warm tones that contrast with the greens dominating the composition. In the central part a dirt road runs, worked with ochres, browns, pinks, and bluish reflections. Its slightly ascending path directs the gaze toward the background and helps establish spatial depth. On both sides of the path lies abundant vegetation, represented by different greens, yellows, and blues. In the right sector stand several tall trees, whose canopies and trunks occupy a substantial part of the pictorial surface. The vegetal masses are built with quick, layered brushstrokes, suggesting the movement of leaves and the incidence of natural light. In the center of the road appears a small human figure, shown from behind and walking toward the buildings. The figure wears a white shirt and dark trousers, standing out against the earthy tones of the path. Their presence provides a sense of scale and reinforces the feeling of depth. The scene conveys a tranquil, everyday atmosphere, evoking life in the Mediterranean rural environment. Style and artistic influences From a stylistic viewpoint, the work relates to the tradition of Valencian landscape painting of the 20th century, showing affinities with impressionism and post-impressionism. The painting preserves a recognizable figurative structure, based on the representation of the landscape, architecture, and the human figure. However, its execution is characterized by a free, expressive brushwork that grants particular importance to light effects and color relationships. The artist avoids an overly meticulous description of natural elements and builds forms through blobs of color. This way of interpreting the landscape relates to the transformations introduced by impressionist painting and its later assimilation by numerous Spanish artists. The impressionist influence can be especially appreciated in the treatment of vegetation and in the representation of atmospheric luminosity. The trees appear built with small brushstrokes of different tones, suggesting the vibration of light on the leaves. Moreover, the use of relatively intense colors and the simplification of certain volumes allow establishing links with some post-impressionist tendencies. The work also participates in the Valencian landscape tradition, characterized by the importance given to Mediterranean light, to rural environments, and to the representation of nature. The Valencian landscape tradition Landscape painting achieved notable development in the Valencian Community during the 19th and 20th centuries. The diversity of its natural environments, the intensity of Mediterranean light, and the presence of characteristic rural architecture offered many sources of inspiration to artists. Painters such as Ignacio Pinazo, Joaquín Sorolla, and Antonio Muñoz Degrain contributed to transforming the interpretation of the landscape, introducing greater freedom in brushwork and a special sensitivity to atmospheric effects. Subsequently, different generations of Valencian artists continued developing these approaches through personal pictorial languages. Rural landscape became one of the recurring themes of this tradition. Paths, masías (farmhouses), whitewashed houses, trees, and popular figures allowed representation of both the physical characteristics of the territory and its human and cultural dimension. The present work sits within this artistic sensibility, showing a landscape where nature and architecture appear closely related. The figure on the path introduces a folkloric element, though without displacing the main protagonism of the natural surroundings. The Mediterranean light and the treatment of color One of the most notable aspects of the painting is its treatment of light, especially visible on the façades of the buildings and on the massed vegetation. The artist uses a palette dominated by greens, blues, yellows, and ochres, enriched with small pinkish and violet nuances. The vegetative areas show notable chromatic variety. The dark greens of the shaded areas contrast with the yellows and light greens of the illuminated leaves. This alternation suggests the irregular incidence of sunlight on the trees and shrubs. The façades of the buildings are rendered with light tones, with blueish shadows that help define their volumes. The path presents a combination of warm ochres, browns, and cool reflections, creating a surface of great pictorial richness. The sky, visible mainly in the upper left area, is treated with white and bluish tones that impart luminosity to the whole. The white shirt of the character constitutes one of the main light accents of the composition. Its presence stands out against the vegetation and helps direct the viewer’s attention toward the center of the path. The result is a painting of great chromatic freshness, in which color serves both descriptive and expressive purposes. Technique and painting execution The work is oil on panel, using a visible brushstroke technique and relatively spontaneous execution. The massed vegetation is built with short, overlapping strokes, generating a sense of texture and movement. The trees present a combination of vertical strokes and color blobs that suggest the trunk structure and the density of the foliage. The constructions are represented with broader brushstrokes and relatively uniform color surfaces. The artist uses small contrasts between lights and shadows to define the architectural volumes. The path shows a freer execution, with horizontal and diagonal strokes that contribute to suggesting the irregularities of the terrain. The human figure is resolved with economy of means, using a few brushstrokes to define posture and clothing. This formal synthesis allows integrating the character into the landscape without turning them into the sole protagonist of the composition. The whole presents a direct execution, in which the spontaneity of the brush reinforces the sense of naturalness. Composition and perspective The painting presents a vertical composition organized around the central path. The path constitutes the main depth element, guiding the gaze from the foreground toward the buildings in the background. The human figure, located slightly to the right of the central axis, reinforces this visual direction. The buildings on the left introduce an architectural counterpoint to the massed vegetation on the right. The trees, represented by vertical lines, provide height and stability to the composition. The vegetation frames the path and helps create a sense of enclosed space. The arrangement of the different elements generates a balance between illuminated and shaded areas. The combination of architecture, nature, and human figure offers a narrative yet essentially landscape-oriented composition. The human figure as a narrative element The presence of the character walking along the path is one of the painting’s most interesting details. The figure appears shown from behind, without individualized features. Their attitude suggests a daily movement toward the buildings in the distance. This compositional choice allows introducing a narrative dimension without the need to depict a concrete action. The character also acts as a scale reference, allowing the height of the trees and the breadth of the surroundings to be appreciated. The white shirt visually stands out against the path and vegetation. Its position helps direct the viewer’s gaze toward the interior of the composition. This device is common in landscape painting, where human figures help establish an emotional connection between the observer and the depicted environment. The scene conveys a sense of calm and familiarity, evoking a quotidian moment of rural life. Signature and attribution The painting features a visible signature in the lower right corner, which reads “Monleón.” The inscription is rendered in a dark tone and is integrated into the area corresponding to the path. The work is catalogued as Valencian school of the 20th century, signed Monleón. Although the Monleón surname appears in Valencian art history, the visible signature alone does not allow secure identification of the full author. For this reason, a prudent cataloguing is maintained, based on the inscription present on the work and on its stylistic characteristics. Provenance Private collection, Valencia, Spain. The work comes from a Valencian private collection, a circumstance that is coherent with its theme and with the characteristics of the painting school to which it belongs. Frame and presentation The painting is framed in a wide, ornate frame of classical inspiration, with decorative reliefs of vegetal motifs and a finish in gold and brown tones. The frame includes a dark inner band that provides contrast with the golden elements. A golden inner moldings delineate the pictorial surface and help highlight the luminosity of the landscape. The ensemble offers an elegant presentation, especially suitable for a painting with rural and Mediterranean subject matter. The frame is offered as a gift to the buyer, with no commercial value, and is not an integral part of the work, so any possible damage to it will not be a cause for complaint. It is recommended to carefully review all photographs, which form an integral part of the description, to adequately assess the conservation state of the painting and its framing. Characteristics Author: Valencian school of the 20th century. Signature: Monleón, in the lower right corner. Chronology: 20th century. Technique: oil on panel. Genre: rural landscape with figure. Theme: path between traditional constructions and abundant vegetation. Style: Valencian figurative landscape painting with impressionist and post-impressionist influence. Provenance: private collection, Valencia, Spain. Presentation: framed. Shipping The work will be carefully and professionally packed, using appropriate protective materials to ensure its safety during transport. Imports outside the European Union may be subject to taxes, duties, import fees, clearance costs and/or customs procedures. Any such costs will be the sole responsibility of the buyer and are not included in the hammer price or in the shipping costs. Likewise, shipments to islands, insular territories, or remote or hard-to-access areas as considered by the transport companies may incur additional charges. Any surcharge applied by the transport company for this reason must be borne by the buyer. Buyers are advised to consult in advance the customs conditions and any transportation surcharges applicable to their destination.

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