№ 5821 NIGHT ENCHANTMENT: UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION PARIS 1900 Maxime MAUFRA (France, Nantes, 1861 - Poncé-sur-le-Loir, 1918) 1900 Oil on canvas, 65.5 x 81.3 Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts •   In 1889, Maxime Maufra, then twenty-eight years old and determined to devote himself fully to painting, went to Brittany to meet Paul Gauguin and his disciples, with a touch of skepticism signaling his independence of character: “I remained three months in this Breton country of Pont-Aven where I heard nothing but pure Veronese green, chrome, etc., more or less absurd color theories. I prefer bright coloring, but you can paint with black ... The trick is to be a painter, and although this word displeases some people, you must first express yourself in this language. "