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The Artwork
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Title: The Banks of the Seine, Pont Neuf
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Artist: Jules-René Hervé (1887–1981)
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Medium / support: Oil on canvas
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Dimensions: 22 × 27 cm (French format 3F)
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Signature: Signed lower right “Jules R. Hervé”, countersigned on the reverse, with handwritten note “les bords de la Seine”
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Date: Undated
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Subject: Parisian view of the Seine embankments, with promenaders and figures seated along the quay, facing the Pont Neuf and its iconic arches
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Condition: Good condition, sound canvas and original stretcher
Critical analysis
This painting captures the lyrical charm of the Seine’s banks, a subject Jules-René Hervé frequently explored. The promenade is dotted with seated figures, their dark silhouettes enlivened by dabs of bright color, suggesting flowers or hats. The eye is drawn toward the Pont Neuf, Paris’s oldest bridge, rising with stately elegance beneath a luminous sky. The composition contrasts the dense foliage to the left with the vast openness of sky and water to the right, conveying both intimacy and grandeur. Hervé’s swift, light-infused brushstrokes breathe life into the scene, balancing architectural permanence with fleeting moments of everyday leisure. This canvas is a poetic tribute to Paris, celebrating its timeless harmony of history, nature, and human presence.
Biography of the artist
Jules-René Hervé was born in Langres in 1887. Gifted from childhood, he moved to Paris in 1908 to pursue studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. He debuted at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1910, soon attracting attention. His career was interrupted by World War I, yet he returned to painting and won the Silver Medal in 1914, followed by the Gold Medal in 1925.
From 1911 to 1943, he taught drawing and painting in Paris schools, influencing many young artists. In 1924, a travel grant allowed him to tour Europe and enrich his vision. In 1937, he was awarded the Gold Medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques in Paris, later becoming vice-president of the Salon des Artistes Français.
Hervé is especially renowned for his Parisian scenes: bustling boulevards, skating rinks, theatres, parks, and the Seine embankments. He also produced rural landscapes of his native Haute-Marne. His style, marked by luminous highlights, brisk brushwork, and fresh harmonies, placed him within the late Impressionist tradition while imbuing his canvases with a distinct poetic sensibility. Favoring small formats such as 22 × 27 cm, he captured fleeting atmospheres with immediacy and vibrancy. Until his death in Langres in 1981, Hervé enjoyed a steady career, and today his paintings remain highly sought after, a luminous record of 20th-century Parisian and French life.
