Georges Laporte: two new oil paintings on canvas between sea and landscapes

Two new oil paintings by Georges Laporte have just joined Gallery 125. These two original paintings are very different in their format and atmosphere, but they allow us to rediscover what defines the artist's work: light, texture, and his attachment to landscapes.

With "Les barques," an oil on canvas measuring 33 × 41 cm, and "Paysage de Corse," a significant composition of 73 × 100 cm, Georges Laporte offers us two almost opposite visions. The first is calm, stripped down, and silent; the second is much brighter, colorful, and filled with texture.

Two paintings that allow you to discover the full richness of Georges Laporte's painting.

Georges Laporte, painter of the sea and landscapes

Born in 1926 and passing away in 2000, Georges Laporte is a French painter particularly known for his landscapes and seascapes.

Throughout his career, he painted coastlines, ports, boats, villages, and landscapes encountered during his travels. The sea holds a significant place in his work, but it is never treated in a purely descriptive manner.

What interests Laporte above all is an atmosphere: the light of a sky, the movement of water, the silhouette of a house, or a few boats abandoned on a shore.

His oil paintings are also recognizable for their use of texture. Some areas may be very light, almost erased, while others are built up with generous impasto and very visible brushstrokes.

The two new paintings presented here particularly illustrate these different aspects of his work.

"The boats": a silent and refined seascape

Oil on canvas "The Boats" 33x41cm (6P)

With "Les barques," Georges Laporte creates a seascape of great simplicity.

Two small boats are resting on the edge of the water in an almost deserted landscape. The painter uses a deliberately limited palette, made up of gray, blue, beige, and earthy tones.

The sky occupies a large part of the painting. The horizon is barely marked and seems to almost disappear in a succession of gray and bluish shades. Some lighter touches catch the light on the hulls of the boats and on the surface of the water.

The whole thing gives off a feeling of calm and silence.

A painting where the material remains very present

Despite its relatively intimate size of 33 × 41 cm (6P), "Les barques" has a real presence.

Just take a closer look at Georges Laporte's painting to discover his texture work. The boats are built with thick, bold strokes, while certain parts of the sky and sea are treated with much more delicacy.

In the foreground, the brush strokes intentionally remain visible. The painting is not smooth: it retains the traces of the artist's gesture.

This contrast between the almost transparent areas and the impastos gives a lot of depth to this small original oil painting on canvas.

With just a few elements - two boats, a horizon line, and a shoreline - Georges Laporte manages to create an entire landscape.

"Corsican Landscape": the Mediterranean light in large format

Oil on canvas "Landscape of Corsica" 73x100cm (40P)

The "Landscape of Corsica" offers a completely different vision.

This large oil on canvas measuring 73 × 100 cm (40P) is much more expressive and colorful.

Houses with pink and light tones emerge in the middle of dark and dense vegetation. Above, a sky of intense blue brings an almost Mediterranean light to the entire composition.

Georges Laporte, however, is not trying to portray Corsica as a postcard.

He interprets the landscape through his own painting. The shapes are suggested rather than meticulously drawn, and the material gradually takes precedence over the details.

A painting constructed through color and impasto.

In "Landscape of Corsica", the material becomes one of the essential elements of the painting.

Georges Laporte works with thick layers of paint. The rocks and foreground are built with broad brushstrokes, while the trees create large dark masses that structure the composition.

The light facades interrupt this vegetation and create points of light.

The contrast with the deep blue of the sky is particularly strong.

This way of working gives the landscape a sense of spontaneity. Brushstrokes remain visible, colors overlap, and some impastos almost create a relief on the surface of the canvas.

From a distance, the landscape immediately appears. As you get closer, it is the work of the painting itself that becomes perceptible.

Two paintings, two very different atmospheres

Bringing together these two original paintings by Georges Laporte is particularly interesting because they seem, at first glance, almost opposite.

In "The boats", everything is restrained. The colors are muted, the sky vast, and the atmosphere almost silent.

In "Landscape of Corsica", the painting on the contrary becomes more vibrant and physical. The blue of the sky, the pink facades, the dark vegetation, and the impastos give the painting a much stronger presence.

On one side, a small marine painting measuring 33 × 41 cm, intimate and stripped down.

On the other side, a large, bright and generously crafted landscape of Corsica measuring 73 × 100 cm.

However, behind these differences, we find the same painter.

Light and landscape at the heart of Georges Laporte's work.

Georges Laporte's strength lies in his ability to never treat the landscape as a mere reproduction of reality.

Whether he paints an almost monochrome seascape or a Mediterranean landscape bathed in colors, he seeks above all to convey a sensation.

Light then plays an essential role.

In "Les barques", it is diffuse and almost veiled. In "Paysage de Corse", it becomes much more distinct and contrasts with the dark masses of vegetation.

This research around light, the sea, and landscapes runs through a large part of Georges Laporte's work and helps make his paintings immediately recognizable.

Georges Laporte and landscape painting in the 20th century

Georges Laporte belongs to the generation of French painters of the 20th century who remained deeply attached to landscape painting and the work of materials.

At a time when art is taking many new directions, he is pursuing a very personal exploration around ports, coasts, villages, and maritime horizons.

His paintings are not traditional landscapes in the strict sense. His gesture remains free and the material occupies an important place. Some elements are only suggested by a few touches, while others emerge from true layers of paint.

It is this freedom that still gives a lot of character to Georges Laporte's oil paintings today.

Two new oil paintings by Georges Laporte at Gallery 125

These two works are now enriching Georges Laporte's selection available at Galerie 125.

"The Boats" - oil on canvas 33 × 41 cm (6P) offers an intimate and silent vision of the painter's maritime universe.

"Landscape of Corsica" - oil on canvas 73 × 100 cm (40P) reveals a much larger painting, where color, Mediterranean light, and impastos occupy the entire composition.

Two original works, two formats, and two atmospheres to discover the work of a French painter who dedicated a large part of his work to the sea, landscapes, and light.

"The boats" and "Landscape of Corsica" by Georges Laporte are now available at Gallery 125.