451 - André MAIRE (1898–1984). School of Traveling Painters.

André MAIRE (1898–1984). School of Traveling Painters. Professor of drawing and modeling at the Saigon School of Architecture (1948–1955). The Sacred Elephants of Madurai Oil on canvas, framed, signed lower left. Circa 1939 H. 130 cm - W. 190 cm Provenance: By descent. Estate of Germaine Lamère, wife of Admiral Louis Gauthier, who was on a mission to the colonies around 1946. “I feel ready for the great journey across India.”—André Maire, June 5, 1938 A traveling painter and prolific artist, André Maire drew inspiration for his work from his numerous journeys—from Indochina to Africa and on to India—whose landscapes became a rich source of inspiration. Having arrived in Pondicherry on June 5, 1938, thanks to his encounter with the Countess of Jumilhac, he wrote to his wife: “I feel ready for the great journey across India.” There, he discovered a world that fascinated him and fell in love with the monumental architecture, the sacredness of the settings, and the richness of the colors. No sooner had he arrived than he was just as fascinated by the Meenakshi Temple as the European traveling painters had been, who, as early as the 14th century, had already dubbed it the “Athens of the East.” In this large-scale composition (130 x 190 cm), André Mairie depicts a subject dear to him: The sacred elephants of Madurai, in Tamil Nadu, in front of the famous temple, which rises above the composition with its large gopurams—the gateway towers that mark the city’s boundaries. At the center of the canvas, the animals, adorned with ornate decorations, impose their slow, heavy rhythm. Framing the composition, the red and white stripes of the sanctuary evoke the characteristic architecture of a Hindu temple, while in the foreground, men, women, and sacred cows bring to life a scene of daily life along the banks of the Vaigai River. Fascinated by elephants—a recurring motif in his work dedicated to the Far East—André Maire returned to this subject several times, offering variations in settings and details. In 1941, he exhibited, notably at the Salon des Beaux-Arts at the Palais de Tokyo, a painting on the same subject of monumental proportions. Far from a strictly historicist depiction, his painting favors a reimagined vision, where decorative elements, mastery of form, and the intensity of the sepia tones intertwine in a theatrical scene. The artist devoted himself to creating these works upon his return from a trip that was cut short by World War II. Here, André Maire’s work, reconstructed from his memories, bears witness to his fascination with these lush landscapes, which will remain forever etched in his memory as well as on the canvas. Bibliography: - Lorenda HARSCOËT-MAIRE, *Voyages d’André Maire*. Musée Regards de Provence, 2017 (similar work reproduced on p. 39) - Lorenda HARSCOËT-MAIRE, André Maire (1898–1984). The Decorative Journey of a Traveling Painter. Gallimard, 2008 (similar work reproduced on p. 119) - André Maire 1898–1984. Catalog of the Charles and André Bailly Gallery, 1989 (similar work reproduced on the catalog cover and on p. 9)