Strasbourg, Rue Saint-Nicolas

Strasbourg, Rue Saint-Nicolas. Oil on canvas. Luc Hueber (1888 - 1974). Dimensions: 55 x 46 cm. This oil painting is signed but undated. It can be dated between 1920 - 1940. At that time, Luc Hueber had returned to Strasbourg after the end of the First World War. He had taken over the Artist's Studio of Saint Nicolas in Strasbourg and was already an active member of the Groupe de Mai. In addition to nudes, portraits, and still lifes, Hueber focused on depicting the houses and old streets of Strasbourg. He thus artistically captured views of a historic Strasbourg in full transformation. The artistic evolution of Luc Hueber does not correspond to a succession of radical breaks. Unlike many artists of the 20th century, he never abandoned figuration. His journey is rather that of a painter who gradually transitions from youthful expressionism to a Cézannesque modernity (Groupe de Mai), then to a colorful realism centered on the Alsatian landscape. In his works of the 1920s, his personal language reaches its highest degree of originality and modernity, while his landscapes from the 1930s to the 1960s have greatly contributed to his immense popularity in Alsace. The present painting fully illustrates a major aspect of Luc Hueber's work.