Harbour, South of France

1920's

View of Avignon

View of Avignon

1940's

The Port of Marseille

1920's

"Street over the channel"

Late 1940's.

Titled "Street over the channel" by the auction house Agra-Art, this work depicts Rue de Teinturiers in Avignon and the Riviere la Sorgue, also painted by Muter here and here. The present day Rue de Teinturiers can be seen from a similar vantage point below.

The painting goes on sale May 31st with an estimate of $31,000.

Quai de la Ligne, Avignon

1940's(?)

During the Second World War Mela Muter moved to Avignon in the south of France, where she continued to paint and taugh drawing and art history at the College Ste Marie. In return the local authorities gave her a small house which she kept until her death, returning regularly for summer holidays after the end of WW2 when she had relocated to Paris.

The work above depicts Quai de la Ligne in Avignon, looking towards the Pont d'Avignon. The yellow house, far left, is Muter's house, 24 Quai de la Ligne. Muter painted numerous works in the vicinity of her house, in the street, in and around the stairs behind her house, and around the Pont d'Avignon.

The artist outside her house in Avignon

Muter painted some of her best works in Avignon during the Second World War, especially landscapes. Her work is charactised at this point by a shift in palette towards deep blues (seen here in the hills in the background) mustard yellows, and light greys, yellows and ochres. Shortly after, in the 1950's, her eyesight began to fail and the quality of her work changed dramatically.

Boats in a port

1950's or later.

Valentré Bridge, Cahors

1930's

Trees

1940's, painted around Avignon.

Landscape

1910(?)

Another early work. Despite there being several distinctive features I am yet to identify where this was painted.

Rue à Collioure

1920 or before

Muter visited Collioure in the south of France on several occassions, following in the footsteps of artists such as Matisse, Derain and Signac. The work above is quite early and is one of the several painted under the influence of the Fauves. The bright colours are fairly unusual for Muter and this work can be labelled an experiment. The work is painted on the reverse of this nude.

The scene today can be seen below, little has changed -

Waterway, Avignon

Pen and ink, 1940's

This work features the same body of water as this oil painting, painted a few metres away.

Harbour, South of France

1940's(?)

Again, heavily influenced by Paul Signac.

Fort St. Andre, Avignon

1940's

The ancient Fort St. Andre in Villeneuve-les-Avignon provided the focal point for many of Mela Muter's landscapes during her time in Avignon. The present work is heavily influenced by Cezanne in it's palette and composition and again by Paul Signac in the restrained watercolour technique, characterised by short strokes, outlines and small blocks of brilliant colour interspersed with areas of blank paper. A similar view was painted by Corot in 1836.

Bridge on the Seine, Paris

1930's?

Muter's sparse watercolour technique was heavily influenced by the neo-impressionist Paul Signac. She greatly admired Signac and painted many of the scenes he favoured such as the beach at Collioure and the bridges of Paris. She painted numerous oils and watercolours of the Pont Marie in Paris, of which the above work is probably one.

Waterwheel, Avignon

Oil on canvas, 1940's?

Cliff at Le Trayas

Oil on canvas, c.1921. Sold at Sothebys in 2007 for $45,000.


Detail

Montmartre, Paris

Oil on canvas, 1925.