Country Landscape

Not long after 1900, Henri Rivière fell out of fashion with art collectors in France. As his prints failed to sell, he turned to drawing and painting. In 1937, he began to spend winters in Buis-les-Baronnies, a small town in the Provence region, in southwest France. The mountainous, sparsely settled area suddenly became crowded, as German forces overran Paris in June 1940. Perhaps to find some peace, Rivière frequently walked the countryside to make watercolors, many of which he gave to the owner of his hotel instead of rent.