The Paintings of Jean Baptiste Camille Noir

In her first full-length catalogue, Marjane Noir presents the au pair in a light house and French country scene. The setting is set against a backdrop of oak, meadow grass, sunlight and a bright blue sky. Noir's chosen images highlight the quietude of the countryside, while the colours and textures of the landscape give the viewer a sense of calm and peace. The colours of the surroundings are more diverse than most of Noir's previous paintings. Instead of the strong colours of her Garden series, the full-length catalogue features green and orange together with some very vibrant blues and greens. The palette does make some interesting differences in comparison to earlier works by Noir.

" Catalogues Marjane", the title of the catalogue, references the work of French artist and writer Maxim Freund. In his paintings, he illustrated the process of planting bulbs in autumn leaves, as well as how different colours affect the senses. In this catalogue marjane, which originally appeared in the portfolio of the artist, represents the flowers and plants of spring. It is interesting to note that the painting is in scale proportion to the larger-sized flowers, which include lilacs, tulips, freesias, geraniums, violets, dahlias, irises, lilies and daffodils.

This catalogue represents the start of Noir's career in painting, and covers topics that remain popular throughout his entire body of work. As the artist started out, it was difficult for him to decide what subject would be best suited for each new painting, so he chose to concentrate on nature. This led to him creating such large paintings as The Looming Dragon (19?? ), The Reassuring Dragon (19?? ), The Assessing Enclosure ( reprised in Noir's first album, Les Enfants Terre Haute Monde) and The Red Door ( reprised in Noir's last album, L'Hexagon). These pictures gained Noir worldwide recognition, and he remained at the forefront of painting nature scenes through the rest of his career. Some of these paintings are now considered to be among his best.

Another important part of Noir's catalogue is his sketching. This early work, which is based on personal observations, is remarkable for the expressive techniques that he used. In one catalogue bim, for example, he sketches a series of beautiful scenes using only pencil and water colours, and by comparing these scenes to photographs of different environments, Noir was able to create a unique painting, The Falling Tree. At the same time, he also creates detailed paintings of fields and buildings. The most famous of these is The Seashore, from his catalogue mai 13 ao.

A major part of Noir's public domain painting career is his paintings of nature, particularly the French countryside. He has created The Peaches in the Spring, La Grange de la Meuse, and The Loire Valley. In his catalogue mai 21, No Men d'en Castel, he depicts people in a traditional French rural setting. It is no coincidence that some of his best-known paintings are of rural landscapes, including The Peaches in the Spring and The Loire Valley. It was also very likely that Noir's passion for nature gave him an eye for capturing the quality of French food, as his food depicted in many of his paintings.

Noir's paintings are all rich in colour, detail and atmosphere, and the strength of each painting depends upon the chosen subject. No Men d'en Castel, for example, is a powerful portrayal of the pain of separation. Similarly, The Seashore is a wonderful landscape, The Loire Valley a memorable pastoral scene, and The Peaches in the Spring a fruit-filled summer day. In his own words, No Men d'en Castel represents "a year's happiness", and his paintings of nature and people give a similar view of the human condition.