'Piazza di Spagna Roma' by Yves Brayer (1933)

'Piazza di Spagna, Roma' oil on canvas, by Yves Brayer (1933). At the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is the famed Column of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary also seen in the artwork. Yves Brayer traveled extensively in his life including a years-long stretch in Italy in the early 1930s. The artist chose here to depict the square not from the famous Spanish Steps, but rather from the other end where palm trees form a line in front of the terracotta-coloured buildings. Drivers with their horse carriages await passengers near the trees. This painting has impeccable provenance beginning with the Galerie de la Présidence, Paris, (located on rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré opposite the Elysée Presidential Palace, then with a private owner in Switzerland. It was on loan to  several Brayer exhibitions including: Yves Brayer, 40 Ans de Peinture, Palais de la Méditerranée, Nice, July 21 - September 17, 1967, no.11/ Les Années Romaines de Yves Brayer, Musée Yves Brayer, Les Baux-de-Provence, Spring - Summer 1996/ Yves Brayer, Les Années 1925-1960, Galerie de la Présidence, Paris, November - December 1999. The artwork is in very good condition and is framed. The artist signed and dated the work in the lower right hand corner. Upon request a video of the work may be provided.

About the Artist: Yves Brayer (1907 - 1990) was born in Versailles, France. Determined to be an artist from an early age, he set out for Paris in 1924, initially studying at the academies in Montparnasse, and from there he attended the École des Beaux-Arts. Whilst still a student he exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, and in 1927 Brayer left Paris for Spain with the aid of a state grant to enable him to study the works of the Spanish Masters in the Prado. 

On his return to Paris in 1934 he exhibited a collection of paintings inspired by his travels in Europe and Morocco to great acclaim. Having moved south to Cordes in the Tarn region of France after the War, Brayer then discovered the area which was to have the greatest artistic influence on his work: Provence. He was enchanted by the diverse and architectural forms of the Alpilles mountains, and by the vast expanse of the Camargue region with its ubiquitous white horses and black bulls. From then on he spent several months each year working in Provence. He also made several trips to Mexico, Egypt, Iran, Greece, Russia, USA and Japan where he was quick to grasp the unique rhythm and light of each country.

A large collection of Yves Brayer’s paintings are on permanent display both at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Cordes, in the Salle Yves Brayer and at the Musée Yves Brayer in Les Baux de Provence, as well as various museums in France and elsewhere. Yves Brayer died in 1990.

Dimensions with frame:

H 71 cm / 28"

W 90 cm / 35.4"

Dimensions without frame:

H 54 cm / 21.3"

W 73 cm / 28.7"