Henri Jean PONTOY (1888-1968). "Towards the Souk". Oil on canvas signed lower left and titled on the back. Height 55 - W 46 cm (two small paint chips) Henri Jean Pontoy was born in Reims in 1888 and trained at the Beaux-Arts in Paris in Luc-Olivier Merson's studio. Close to the Barbizon School, the artist developed an attraction for the outdoors and painted from the motif. He left for North Africa in 1926, thanks to a grant from the Société Coloniale des Artistes Français, and his favorite subjects were the kasbahs and souks of southern Morocco. Numerous portraits of Berbers complete his atypical landscapes bathed in light. A close associate of Jacques Majorelle, Henri Jean Pontoy was one of the ultimate masters of the Orientalist movement in the first half of the 20th century, following in the tradition of Eugène Delacroix.

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