Louis Jourdan, (1872-1948), le chantre de la Dombes

Louis Jourdan, (1872-1948), singer of the Dombes region.
Michèle DUFLOT

The youngest son of a modest Burgundian family, Jourdan was destined to become a hairdresser. His apprenticeship in Lyon, a major artistic center and breeding ground for landscape painters, decided his vocation. Perfectly self-taught, he trained himself by visiting the city's fine arts museum.
He worked during the week, but as soon as he had a little money to spare, he devoted himself to painting and went with his painter friends to Saint-Paul-de Varax. The Dombes thus became the sole subject of his canvases, from which man was mostly absent. When success came, he divided his time between Paris (in winter) and Saint-Paul (in summer).
His real talent was recognized by his contemporaries and won him public acclaim, Salon awards and medals.
His view of nature is objective, peaceful and deeply sympathetic. A virtuoso draughtsman, he gave great importance to line and the balance of planes, purifying forms without ever reaching abstraction.
His palette is very sober, composed of greens, browns and russets.
Some of his paintings can be seen at the Monastère Royal de Brou museum, but there is also a very interesting museum dedicated to him in Saint-Paul-de-Varax.