Minartz, born in Cannes, was a self-taught painter. He was born Antoine Guillaume, but adopted the name “Tony Minartz.” He exhibited in various group shows from 1896 to 1914, most notably in the exhibitions of the Salon de la Societé Nationale, to which he was elected an Associate Member in 1901. Minartz became known as a painter of lively scenes, landscapes, figures, and marine views. He excelled as a draughtsman and a watercolorist. He was a prolific painter, and left many works which depict with great skill and vivacity the life of Paris, the Côte d’Azur (especially Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Nice, and Monaco), and Venice from the last years of the 19th century through the “Crazy Years” of the 1930s. Bénézit calls Minartz “one of the most faithful chroniclers” of the world of carnival, street festivals, casinos, cafés, music halls, circuses, the theater, opera and ballet.”  

His work is found in many private collections and also in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The most recent watercolor by Minartz to come up for auction, a Paris scene like this one, and approximately the same size, sold at Christie’s (London) in July of 2006 for $8,856.  

The Morris Column (Colonne Morris), depicted here, was invented in the 1850s and can still be seen throughout Paris with posters advertising cinemas, theaters, nightclubs and art exhibitions.  

 

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