Victor TARDIEU (1870-1937). Director of the Indochina School of Fine Arts. School of Fine Arts of Lyon, Prize of Indochina in 1920. Founder of the Indochina School of Fine Arts. "The Apples, nude study Oil on its original canvas, signed and dated 1912 lower left. On the back, remnants of the exhibition label with the artist's name, contact information and the title of the work: "Tard []. First names: Victor. Chaptal, Paris. [] my". Label of the commissionaire " A. Robinot, packer of Fine Arts, 50, rue Vaneau, Paris. Exhibition of Périgueux. M. Tardieu." Marked twice in pencil on the back : " T 5905 ". In its original frame in molded wood, carved, stuccoed and gilded. Dimensions: 60x74 cm. Minor accidents and small restoration to the frame. Provenance: - Registered under the n° 5905 by the Société des Artistes Français. - Exhibited in 1913 at the 11th Salon of the Société des Beaux-Arts de la Dordogne in Périgueux, under the n° 443. - Purchased at the 11th Salon of the Society of Fine Arts of the Dordogne in Perigueux, then in the family by descent. The indications on our painting and the cross-referencing of archival sources allow us to trace its history since its creation by Victor Tardieu in 1912. Indeed, the archives of the "Tardieu fund", kept since 2009 at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (I.N.H.A.), and the consultation of the catalog of the 1913 Salon périgourdin, converge in all points. Founded in Périgueux in 1883, the Société des Beaux-Arts de la Dordogne had the goal of "promoting the progress of the Arts and spreading the taste for them through public exhibitions. During each public presentation, the works of art could be acquired either by the visitors or by the Society itself. Strong of its success since its first exhibition in 1886, the Société des Beaux-Arts de la Dordogne renews each edition with more and more vigor and scope. Open from May 18 to July 27, 1913, the eleventh Salon périgourdin was held in Périgueux on the Promenade de Tourny, in conjunction with the Salon de la Société départementale d'Horticulture de la Dordogne. Of the 465 works exhibited, by 197 different artists, Victor Tardieu presented two "Hors concours": our painting entitled "Les Pommes, étude de nu", under n° 443, but also a "Nature morte", under n° 444. In our painting, Tardieu combines the study of the female figure in negligee, the still life, and the description of a bourgeois interior, all bathed in a slightly vaporous atmosphere. At the same time, Tardieu submitted a "Naked Woman" in a languid position to the public, still in the "Hors concours" category, at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in Paris. The same year, he was selected by the town hall of Montrouge to decorate the ceiling of the town council room. This commission was not completed until 1920, as it was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Indeed, Tardieu enlisted as a volunteer soldier in 1914, before being demobilized in 1918. In a way, our painting closes a happy pictorial and personal period for Tardieu, before his meeting with the art lover Albert Sarraut, and his first decisive stay in Indochina, which began in January 1921. We thank the Library and Documentation Department of the I.N.H.A. for its kind assistance.