Porte de St. Denis
Porte de St. Denis
Edouard Cortes
French, 1882 - 1969
Oil on Canvas
18 x 22 in. (45.7 x 55.9 cm)
Cortès animates this bustling corner of the Grands Boulevards with characteristic verve, the Porte de St. Denis visible in the misty distance as streams of Parisians, horse-drawn vehicles, and shop fronts fill the scene with life and movement. Ornate gas lamps cast a warm golden glow across the wet pavement, their light catching the facades of the great department stores and drawing the eye deep into the composition. The palette is unusually bright and airy for a Cortès street scene — pale blues and cool grays in the upper register dissolving into the warm amber of the boulevard below — giving the work a freshness and energy that is immediately engaging. A lively and beautifully realized canvas.
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