AB-PF-1921-002 — Rue Frédéric-Sauton (Paris) (c. 1921)

Technical information

Title : Rue Frédéric-Sauton (Paris)
Date : c. 1921
Technique : Oil on canvas
Dimensions : 46 × 38 cm
Location : Private collection*

Biographical / historical context

This urban view belongs to the earliest years of Breuillaud’s documented pictorial activity. In 1921, he chose nearby motifs—streets, quays and monuments—that allowed him to practise perspective, diffused light and the animation of passers-by. Rue Frédéric‑Sauton, in the immediate vicinity of Notre‑Dame and the Seine, is part of Left Bank Paris, where daily observation feeds apprenticeship, poised between a late‑Impressionist inheritance and an already assured sense of built space.

Formal / stylistic description

The deliberately vertical composition organises the scene as a stream of street: rising façades, broken rooflines and a depth led toward the back by a circulation axis. In the distance, a bluish spire stands out in the pale haze—a landmark that fixes the perspective without rigidifying the whole. The brushwork, lively and short, breaks up the material of walls and paving and lets the air breathe between planes. The palette alternates a cool range (blues, lilacs, greys) with warmer accents (ochres and reds on awnings). Reflections on the ground prolong the light and suggest gentle dampness. The figures, treated as small blocks of colour, provide scale and movement—quick notations within a stable setting.

Comparative analysis / related works

Through its atmosphere and Left Bank subject, the work relates closely to *Notre‑Dame de Paris* (1921), with the same search for filtered light and an enveloped depth. It belongs to a group of early 1920s urban views in which space remains descriptive, yet already reveals an interest in architectural rhythms: alternating verticals, openings, and the circulation of the eye along façades.

Justification of dating and attribution

The dating to c. 1921 is consistent with the still cautious handling, the late‑Impressionist touch and the absence of the more constructed formal tension that would emerge in the second half of the decade. The “circa” remains appropriate: the ensemble places the work at the heart of the early PF phase, without any decisive clue allowing a more precise dating.

Provenance / exhibitions / publications

Private collection.