Rating and value of paintings by Roger Marcel Limouse

If you own a work by or based on the work of artist Roger Marcel Limouse and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with an accurate estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, should you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value

Painter of the Paris School, Roger Marcel Limouse enjoys a fairly high rating on the art market today.

Appreciated by collectors, some of his paintings can sell for tens of thousands of euros at auction : the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €25 to €99,000, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works, as evidenced by his oil on canvas Femme aux fruits, which went for €90,000 in 2007, whereas it was estimated at between €27,000 and €32,000.  

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

Roger Marcel Limouse is a painter associated with the second Fauve generation and the French Post-Impressionist movement. His aesthetic is dominated by expressive color, Mediterranean luminosity and a taste for vibrant, decorative and sensual scenes.

The direct influence of Matisse, Marquet and the colorists of the École de Paris. His preferred themes were female nudes, odalisques, interior scenes, southern landscapes, markets, bouquets and colorful still lifes.

He sought visual joy, sensuality of form and chromatic harmony, with theatrical or intimate settings : posed figures, warm interiors, decorative motifs (fabrics, screens, mirrors). His palette is characteristic of the fauves : reds, oranges, emerald greens, deep blues, saturated purples.

The colors are laid down in vibrant flat tints, often juxtaposed without traditional modeling. He makes extensive use of warm/cold contrasts to structure space and reinforce the subject's presence. Color is an autonomous expressive vector, not subordinate to optical realism.

His drawing is supple and contours are marked but not rigid. He simplifies forms with rounded female silhouettes and generous, decorative volumes. There is no strict naturalism, priority is given to sensation and chromatic composition.

Structures are balanced, often frontal, with an interest in verticality and colored diagonals. Space is organized by colored zones rather than classical perspective. Interior scenes are tightly framed. He attaches great importance to secondary objects (vases, flowers, fabrics) that reinforce decorative harmony.

He uses oil paint with a moderate paste, rarely impastoed, applied in a fluid manner. His brushwork is broad, his gestures saturated, with an absence of visible repentance. He works in light, superimposed layers to modulate luminosity.

He uses matte or semi-gloss materials, depending on the decorative intent. Light is diffused to unify the space and emphasize color rather than shadow. He uses colorful backlighting effects in certain interior scenes.

The artist travels to North Africa, which brings a notable intensification of his palette. He thus transposed Orientalist atmospheres into a modern Fauvist idiom. His work is closely linked to decorative aesthetics, with the importance of line, surface and textile motifs.

Roger Marcel Limouse, his life, his work

Roger Marcel Limouse (1894 - 1990) was born in Collo, Algeria, in a colonial environment where light, color and Mediterranean scenes profoundly marked his visual sensibility. He arrived in France to study painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he benefited from a solid academic education, before moving on to modern aesthetics.

He became close to the circles of the École de Paris and the heirs of the Fauve movement. Between the wars, he exhibited at the Paris Salons, the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants. His early works already reveal an orientation towards expressive color and the sensuality of female forms.

This was the beginning of critical recognition for his intimist scenes and decorative compositions. In the 1930s - 1950s, he asserted a more personal style, marked by a warm palette and compositions inspired by the Midi and North Africa.

He was represented by several Parisian galleries specializing in the École de Paris and post-fauves. Numerous exhibitions are held in France and abroad, consolidating his place among the French colorists of the 20th century. He gained a growing reputation for his nudes, Mediterranean interiors and studio scenes.

He traveled regularly to North Africa, where he nurtured an essential part of his chromatic vocabulary. The influence of Mediterranean light is enduring in his work, with a gradual intensification of his palette and color expression.

These sojourns forged one of the most characteristic aspects of his artistic personality  a modernized orientalism, freed from the narrative overload of the 19th century. He developed a refined decorative style, balancing Fauvist spontaneity with structured composition.

His work became fuller, freer, but still centered on the female figure and color. He taught and trained young artists in various Parisian studios. His influence lives on in the post-war generation of colorist painters.

He died in 1990, leaving behind an abundant, coherent body of work faithful to the principles of expressive color. His works can be found in many private European collections and museums. Today, he is recognized as one of the leading exponents of late Fauvism and Mediterranean colorism in the second half of the twentieth century.

Market segmentation and artist rating

Oils on canvas are the heart of the market and constitute the most sought-after segment. Gouaches and watercolors are the intermediate segment, accessible and appreciated for their spontaneity. Large compositions are rare and highly prized, often held in private collections.

Small formats (under 30cm), still lifes, nude studies and Mediterranean views have good liquidity. Medium formats (30 - 70 cm) are the main segment, particularly for nudes and colored interiors. Large formats (over 70 cm) are rarer and highly sought-after for chromatic power.

Valued subjects include female nudes, studio scenes, and the sensual figures that are Limouse's stylistic signature, Mediterranean workshops, decorative compositions and odalisques, colorful bouquets and fauve still lifes.

Valuation criteria are color quality (saturation, fauve vibrancy, decorative harmony), subject typicity (nudes and interior scenes are clearly better valued than simple landscapes), period of creation : works between 1930 and 1960 are the most sought-after.

The state of conservation is also important, with stable varnish, absence of heavy overpainting (light impasto being sensitive), and provenance : Parisian or period collections increase the value.

The artist's market is durable, underpinned by enduring interest in artists of the second Fauvist generation and the École de Paris. Collectors are looking above all for nudes, interior scenes and colorful Mediterranean-inspired compositions.

The quotation remains accessible compared to other twentieth-century colorists, which favors good liquidity. The rare large formats are the most promising segment in terms of valuation.  

His signature

Not all of Roger Marcel Limouse's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of his signature.

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