1930s Joseph Pinchon Watercolor Map of Paris, 1st and 2nd arrondissements.

This vibrant, likely Joseph Pinchon, watercolor map of Paris, c. 1931-38, highlights the city's Interwar shopping, bar, theater, and café life. The artist's confident hand reveals Paris as a dynamic crucible of creativity and commerce during the luminous interval before the dark years of World War II. While the piece is unattributed, there is strong anecdotal evidence that is the work came from the Huguette Marcelle Clark (1906 - 2011) collection and is by one of the major French artists she patronized: Joseph Porphyre Pinchon (1871 - 1953), Jean Mercier, or Chéri Hérouard, Pinchon being the most likely candidate.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces Paris's primary shopping district, between the Paris Opera and the Place du Concorde, thus the 1st (Louvre) and 2nd (Bourse) arrondissements. The watercolor map bustles with life and motion, reflecting the hustle and bustle of this lively part of Paris. 1930s cars, many labeled with Paris businesses, zoom up and down the streets. Shops and businesses are identified throughout, most of which peaked during the Interwar Period (1918 - 1939) or earlier, but a remarkable number continue to operate in these same locations.

Anecdotal Provenance

While the map is unattributed, it was acquired from a vendor known for selling remainders from the estate of heiress, philanthropist, and art patron Huguette Marcelle Clark. Clark patronized several illustration artists, most notably Joseph Pinchon, Jean Mercier, Manon Iessel, and Chéri Hérouard. Of these artists, only Pinchon was known for cartographic illustration, having produced for Clark both a large map of Paris and an incomplete map of France. The work does bear a stylistic resemblance to some of Pinchon's watercolors.

Publication History and Census

This is a unique watercolor painting. It is otherwise unattributed and bears no striking resemblance to work by any known artist. We've attempted to more precisely date it from the historical events, buildings, and business, bookending it to c. 1931 - 1938. The best reference is the appearance of 'Vera Gorea', a fashion house on Rue Chambon founded in 1931, thus marking the earliest possible date. The map further bears a stylistic exuberance that certainly pre-dates World War II (1939 - 1945), and so 1938 is our latest suitable date.