SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Born and died in Avignon, the painter Paul Saïn grounds his work in landscape: his stays in Corsica notably fostered a body of rural views, often sketched on small panels, in a naturalist vein. From 1877, a scholarship enabled him to continue his training at the École des beaux-arts de Paris, in Jean-Léon Gérôme’s studio. At the Salons of 1879, 1887, 1889, 1890 and 1892, he exhibited mainly landscapes and seascapes, two genres that accompanied his career.
The Avignon area remained an anchor for his work. With Marius Breuil, Pierre Grivolas and his pupil Louis Agricol Montagné, Saïn visited Les Angles, on the bank of the Rhône opposite Avignon. In 1895, he discovered Bastia and Corsica. His marriage in 1902 to the sister of the sculptor Jean-Mathieu Pekle, who was from Bastia, was followed by regular stays in the city. La Joséphine (Bastia), an oil on panel dated by the Bastia Museum to between 1902 and 1907, bears witness to this connection with the city. An old handwritten inscription on the reverse identifies the boat depicted. In Bastia, La route de Monte-Piano was shown at the 1903 Salon, followed by Environs de Bastia at the 1905 Salon; both works are among those held by the Bastia Museum.
In 1900, Saïn produced Avignon et Villeneuve-lès-Avignon for the restaurant Le Train bleu at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. A retrospective of his work was held in 1904 at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. He was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1895. Several of his landscapes are now held in institutions in the region: the Musée Calvet in Avignon holds, among other works, Crépuscule de novembre, Le Fort Saint-André et la plaine de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, au soleil couchant, and Le Matin au bord du Rhône. The Bibliothèque Inguimbertine in Carpentras holds, among other works, La Tour Philippe-le-Bel à Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, dated 1890, and La Vesprée d’Avignon, dated 1896.
This profile brings together identity references for Paul Saïn and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Genève Enchères · Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Schuler
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
Landstrasse
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2022-12-12
Published result : 400 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 400–600
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Oil on wood
Zwei Damen in einer Landschaft
Öl auf Holz
Catalogue period : 2020-03-23
Published result : 300 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 200–300
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Oil on canvas
Chemin de campagne
huile sur toile
Catalogue period : 2016-06-22
Published result : 1216 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 1000–1500
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Oil on canvas
Bosquet en campagne
huile sur toile
Catalogue period : 2015-12-09
Published result : 700 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 700–900
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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