Rating and value of paintings by Marcel Mouillot

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Rating and value of the artist Marcel Mouillot  

Considered an important figurative artist of the 20th century, Marcel Mouillot leaves behind an artistic identity of his own. This legacy consists mainly of oils on canvas.

At present, the prices of his works are rising at auctioneers' gavels, his stock is on the rise. His canvases and other works are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €130 to €6,650, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Mouillot's works.

In 2013, a polychrome composition entitled Les Bateaux sold for €6,650 while it was estimated at between €1,800 and €2,500.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious 

Style and technique of the artist Marcel Mouillot

Marcel Mouillot (1889 - 1972) was a self-taught French painter active in the early 20th century, linked to a structured post-impressionist vein and a plastic language close, in certain aspects, to the early cubists (simplification, volumes, geometric relationships).

The iconographic field is dominated by landscape, marine, still life and tropical scenes from his travels. His pictorial vocabulary focuses mainly on seascapes and harbors, landscapes (Brittany, Provence, Madagascar, Reunion Island).

He also works in the graphic arts and drawing, with an attested production (posters, drawings) falling within a visual communication register for colonial and museum instiutions.

His compositions are based on simplified forms and mass organization (sea plans, hulls, quays, port architecture), with an architectonic legibility of volumes.

There's a tendency to geometrize elements (built volumes, surface relationships) rather than to describe them in detail.

He chose a palette described as simple and favoring cool hues (blues, greens), used to structure space and install a unified atmosphere. In maritime scenes, the cold range is often used to articulate sky and sea, and to hierarchize volumes through value contrasts rather than saturation.

Light is frequently diffused, in the service of total unity (veiled skies, marine atmospheres) rather than dramatic chiaroscuro. He works mainly with oil on canvas, and his pictorial writing is oriented towards a construction by planes and a stable placement of volumes.

The life of Marcel Mouillot

Marcel Mouillot (1889 - 1972) was a French painter from a non-academic background, not following the classic institutional Beaux-Arts path. As a self-taught painter, he trained through practice, observation and direct study of modern works.

He was sensitive to the pictorial research of post-impressionism and to the problems of constructing pictorial space at the beginning of the 20th century. He began exhibiting in the inter-war years, and quickly made a name for himself with his maritime and harbor landscapes, which became the core of his work.

He is part of a modern figurative movement, without adhering to any established theoretical avant-garde. He travels and stays in several maritime regions, including Brittany, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

These travels give lasting structure to his iconography (ports, ships, coasts, tropical landscapes). Exotic scenes figured prominently in his work from 1930-1950.

He exhibited regularly at salons and group shows in France. His works are acquired by public collections, particularly in overseas France. He participated in the dissemination of a modern, structured image of colonial landscapes, in line with the cultural policies of the time.

Parallel to his painting, he produced drawings and posters, sometimes for institutional or cultural purposes. These works testify to a sense of visual synthesis and an adaptation of pictorial language to communication media.

He developed a personal style based on the simplification of forms, an often cold palette and a rigorous construction by planes. He maintains a legible figurative style, far removed from formal abstraction.

He is recognized today as a representative painter of French figurative modernity of the early 20th century. He is appreciated for his seascapes, harbors and tropical landscapes. His work is regularly featured on the art market.

Market segmentation and artist's rating

Oil on canvas continues the main segment, with seascapes, ports, liners, sailboats, but also views of Saint-Tropez, Fraxinet and Indian Ocean subjects. Common formats are medium and small, frequently numbered and countersigned on the back in the sales notes.

Posters (culture, colonial propaganda) form a distinct segment, falling under the " vieux papiers " and vintage poster market, with prices significantly lower than paintings.

Small formats (20 - 30 cm) form part of the lower and middle end of the market, with Paquebot (22 x 27 cm), for example, fetching €600. Medium formats and installed subjects reach higher values, such as Place à Fraxinet, vers Saint-Tropez (64 x 54 cm), which fetched €1,560.

The overall amplitide of auction results (all media combined) ranges from US$250 to US$9,000, depending on the medium, dimensions and quality of the work.

He thus joins artists such as Yvonne Canu, Yves Brayer or Louis Mathieu Verdilhan.

Overpricing factors are above all very legible maritime subjects (liner, port, sailboat) with a structured composition), and provenance and complete notice (countersignature, numbering, location) and good surface condition.

Imprecise attributions such as " entourage de " or " attributed to ", heavy restorations, repaints or non-rare graphic works such as common posters will result in a discount.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Marcel Mouillot sometimes signs his works, mostly 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 Mouillot, don't hesitate to request a free valuation using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and chartered auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, not forgetting to pass on ad hoc information about it.

If you're thinking of selling your work, our specialists will also help you find alternatives to sell it at the best possible price, taking into account market trends.