SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Jean-Baptiste Olive’s painting consistently returns to Marseille and its surroundings: the Old Port, the islands and the southern coastline are important subjects in his work. According to Galerie Alexis Pentcheff, he gathers sketches made on the spot on a range of supports, including small wooden panels; this material serves as the basis for composing Mediterranean views from his Paris studio. Encouraged by the decorator Étienne Cornellier, he studies at the École des beaux-arts de Marseille with Johanny Rave. In 1874, he travels to Italy, notably to Genoa and Venice.
Based in Paris from 1882, he continues to paint Marseille and the south of France, keeping these landscapes at the heart of his work despite his distance from them. He takes part in the Salon de Paris from 1874 and exhibits occasionally at Provençal Salons; in 1881, he becomes a member of the Salon des artistes français. In 1900, he is commissioned to paint two canvases for the gilded room of the restaurant Le Train bleu at the Gare de Lyon: Le Vieux port de Marseille, dated 1900, and Saint-Honorat, dated 1901.
Works are held in several public collections: Les environs de Saint Cyr (1914) at the National Pinacotheca of Athens, Carry-le-Rouet at the Musée Cantini in Marseille, Paysage in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Musée du Louvre, and La Falaise at the Musée d’Art moderne André Malraux in Le Havre. His career is also marked by his appointment as a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1899, followed by his promotion to Officer in 1923. In 1948, the Musée Cantini devotes an exhibition to him for the centenary of his birth, presenting 82 works. Later, from 26 September 2008 to 25 January 2009, the Fondation Regards de Provence organises the exhibition “Jean-Baptiste Olive – Prisme de lumière” at the Palais des Arts in Marseille.
This profile brings together identity references for Jean-Baptiste Olive and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Genève Enchères · Dobiaschofsky
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on canvas
Quai animé dans le port de Marseille
huile sur toile
Catalogue period : 2026-04-29
Published result : 1600 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2000–3000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
Vue du port de Marseille.
Öl auf Leinwand
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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