Rating and value of paintings by Marcel Gromaire

If you own a work by or after the artist Marcel Gromaire, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

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Rating and value of the artist Marcel Gromaire

Considered one of the leaders of post-cubism, Marcel Gromaire participated in the artistic revolution of the 20th century. This legacy is made up of paintings, watercolor drawings and prints.

At present, prices for his works are rising under the auctioneer's hammer. His paintings are particularly prized, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €10 to €282,000, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Gromaire's works.

A polychrome composition entitled Nu au chapeau bleu and dating from 1930 sold for €282,000. Another canvas, L'après-midi d'été, also dating from 1930, went for €170,000 while it was estimated at €60,000-80,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique by artist Marcel Gromaire  

Gromaire develops a solidly architectural figurative style, in which forms are reduced to the essential. His style is characterized by a limited chromatic range, with dominant browns, ochres, earthy colors that are often enhanced by blues or greens.

He blends rigorous geometric constructions with a certain pictorial sensuality in his nudes and figures. The drawing is often encircled by a pronounced black ring, with a hyphen between Gothic/Romanesque art and modernity.

The themes he deals with most often are everyday life, workers, war, and cities, which he arranges like monumental objects (cf La Guerre, 1925). He worked mainly in oil on canvas, but also used watercolors, drawings and etchings.

He mastered oil, sometimes enriched with resins, to create dense, textured, almost sculptural surfaces. He applies superimposed layers with accentuated modelling and pronounced volume, rather than smooth enamel. The figures thus appear massive and architectural.

The figures do not merge into the background but remain distinct, like autonomous volumes in a constructed space. He draws inspiration from the Romanesque and Gothic primitives, which explains his relationship with monumentality, verticality and statuary.

Marcel Gromaire's life

Marcel Gromaire (1892 - 1971) was a painter born in northern France to a French father and Flemish mother.

After his secondary education in Douai, he obtained a law baccalaureate in 1909 in Paris. He attended the free academies of Montparnasse (Académie Colarossi, Académie de la Palette) around 1910.

During the First World War, he was mobilized and wounded in 1916 on the Somme. His battlefield experience would influence the rest of his work. In 1919, he returned to Paris and set up in a studio on rue Delambre, then at the Villa Seurat from 1925.

He then met Dr. Maurice Giradin, who bought Gromaire's output for ten years, ensuring him a certain stability as well as recognition.

He exhibited at the Kunsthalle Basel in 1933 (retrospective) as a mark of consecration. He carried out state commissions, such as decorating the Sèvres porcelain pavilion for the 1937 Paris Exposition.

Between 1939 and 1944, he worked as a tapestry weaver in Aubusson, Creuse, and contributed to the revival of modern tapestry alongside Jean Lurçat. He taught at the École natioanle supérieure des arts décoratifs (Paris) from 1950 to 1962.

He was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1954 and the Grand Prix National des Arts in 1958. He died in Paris in 1971; his output is estimated at around 700 oils and canvases, averaging around ten a year.

A large part of his work is preserved at the Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris thanks to the Giradin bequest.

Focus on La Guerre, Marcel Gromaire, 1925

La Guerre is an oil on canvas by Marcel Gromaire measuring approximately 127 x 100 cm, housed in the Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris. It was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in 1925.

The work depicts French soldiers in a trench, helmeted and clad in coats and armor. The geometry and visual mass are strong, the bodies reduced to compact, almost monolithic volumes, evoking the objectification or dehumanization of the combatants.

The colors are dark, earthy and cold, with dominants of gray, metallic blue-gray, and ochres with little tonal variation, reinforcing the heavy atmosphere.

The work is part of a structured return to figuration after the First World War, the large mass of forms recalls " pneumatic " cubism, we note in particular the influence of Fernand Léger, while retaining an expressive gravity.

With this work, Gromaire, a veteran wounded in 1916, transforms his experience into a symbolic image : this is not a historical or allegorical narrative but a visual memory of war as machine, as have also Otto Dix, Frantisek Kupka or Alfred Aberdam.

Market segmentation and artist rating

The type of works present on the market are oils on canvas (main segment), drawings and inks, etchings, lithographs and tapestries.

Medium to large canvases are better valued. Paper or small-sized supports enter a more accessible range. Valued subjects are female nudes, powerful figurative compositions, labor or social themes, and paintings from the 1920s-1930s.

The market is mainly French (Paris) but also American and European for major lots. Valuation factors include the period of production, a possibly iconic subject, condition, provenance and format.

Small-format drawings and inks constitute the entry-level segment, while oils of significant size and strong subjects constitute the high-end segment. For oils on canvas, valuations start at around €10,000, rising to between €40,000 and €60,000 for canvases larger than 50cm. They can exceed €100,000 for large compositions.

For drawings and inks, average valuations are between €1,000 and €15,000, and between €500 and €5,000 for lithographs. Marcel Gromaire's value is stable and well placed in the French modern art market. We can speak of sure values.

The fact that estimates for major works exceed €100,000 shows a mature market for the high-end segment of his work. The large number of lots offered for sale indicates good liquidity, but also a wide dispersion of supports, formats and qualities, which can lead to high volatility depending on condition and subject.

Recognizing Marcel Gromaire's signature  

The artist's works are often signed. If he does, the signature appears at the bottom of the painting, in a color that contrasts with the background.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Marcel Gromaire, don't hesitate to request a free valuation using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it.

If you are considering selling your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account the inclinations of the market.