The Point-du-Jour at Auteuil: Dusk

Luigi Loir was the landscape painter of Paris during the industrial age of the belle époque. While at the Parma Academy of Fine Arts, he mixed with the up-and-coming young painters of Italian modernity, the “Macchiaioli” who observed movement and form to create a “macchia,” or luminous spot. Loir arrived in Paris in 1863 and witnessed a society bubbling with energy, the city packed with cabarets, open-air dance floors, cafés and festive venues. Loir depicted the Paris suburbs with their humble population of workers, strollers and shopgirls. In his impressive, panoramic scenes, the busy energy of the streets contrasts with the sobriety of his carefully structured compositions. The twinkling gas lamps, sweeping new avenues and opulent storefronts were the source of his inspiration. Fascinated by the atmosphere of night, he used monochrome tonalities that conveyed a certain melancholy.