early life and artistic beginnings

charles laval, a french painter, was born in paris on march 17, 1862. his life was marked by an early association with prominent artists of his time, including paul gauguin and vincent van gogh. laval's artistic journey began in the synthetic movement and the pont-aven school, a group known for its primitivist themes and synthetist style. he was son of an architect and a polish mother. 1880 he presented his first painting „Bauernhof in Barbizon“ on the Salon de Paris and took part in 1883 as well. In the following years he had contacts to henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, émile bernard and louis anquetin, who created the theory of cloisonismus at the end of the 1880s. laval developed a predilection for portrait painting. Several works from this time are lost. Henri Delavallée, whom he met in 1886 at pension gloanec in pont-aven, remembers that these paintings showed stylistic influences on works by degas, émile bernard noted lavals fondness for black, which can be traced back to bonnat’s influence.

artistic collaborations and influences

in 1886, laval collaborated with paul gauguin at pension gloanec in pont-aven, leading to their joint expedition to panama in search of an exoticism that could inspire art. this collaboration resulted in a series of landscapes by laval, often mistakenly attributed to gauguin. he was also sponsored by Albert Dauprat, who kept his paintings in france. bald were laval and gauguin forced due to money problems to travel to a french „paradise“ after martinique. there arose several paintings by laval which are characterized by vibrant colors and orientate themselves on the rhythmical structure of pierre puvis de chavannes’s works with their simplified forms, strongly outlined and lacking geometric perspective (e.g., Lavals painting „Frauen von Martinique“ in Musée d’Orsay).

the synthetism

from a ruhr infection and a dementia crisis laval left french antilles after a suicide attempt and returned to pont-aven in july 1888. there had already emile bernard and gauguin painted first works with simplified forms, strongly outlined and lacking geometric perspective, which were emblematic for synthetism. on this responded laval with his painting „Allant au marché“ („Beim Gang zum Markt”), behind which hid his self-portrait in bretonian dress. due to the later dispute between gauguin and bernard the important role lavals for the development of the early phase of synthetism and the experiments with color was concealed.

martinique landscapes

charles laval’s paintings from martinique are remarkable for their expressive use of color and their stylistic affinities with paul gauguin's oeuvre. Lavals landscapes capture the essence of martinique’s tropical environment, employing bold hues and simplified forms to convey a sense of immediacy and emotion. His approach aligns closely with the pont-aven school’s ethos of primitivism and synthetism, prioritizing visual impact over meticulous detail.

tragic end

charles laval died on april 27, 1894, at the age of 32, due to complications from tuberculosis. his legacy remains significant within the pont-aven school and synthetism. he is remembered as a talented artist who tragically succumbed to illness before realizing his full potential.