Henri Martin

Kaplan Gallery, London
Private Collection, Italy (sale: Sotheby's, London, 14th March 1995, lot 13)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

The canvas is not lined. There do not appear to be any signs of retouching visible under UV light. There is a small spot of paint loss to the purple pigment in the centre of the sky and a few further flecks in places. This work is in overall very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A living legend within the world of publishing, Tom Maschler’s astonishing career invites superlatives. As literary director of Jonathan Cape and the instigator of the Booker Prize, Maschler has undoubtedly shaped Britain’s literary and cultural landscape, and has profoundly influenced the lives of generations of readers through his remarkable ability to ‘talent-spot’ a starry roster of authors: Joseph Heller, Philip Roth, Gabriel García Márquez, Martin Amis, Doris Lessing, Roald Dahl and Ian McEwan, to name just a very few, were championed by Maschler. In addition, the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded an astonishing fifteen times to writers published by Maschler, whose passion for his chosen profession shines through in his memoir from 2005.

Although Maschler’s father, Kurt, had worked in publishing in Germany prior to WWII, his son initially tried his hand at several other jobs, including an attempt to break into the Italian film industry. Thankfully for the literary world, however, Maschler decided to move into publishing in his early twenties, taking a role at André Deutsch. This was followed by positions as editor at MacGibbon & Kee, then Fiction Editor at the venerable Penguin Books. But it was when Maschler arrived at Jonathan Cape in 1960 as editorial director that he was able to fully reveal his astonishing flair for working with authors, rising to head the firm in 1966.

In his memoirs Maschler recalls the sense of excitement and dynamism that characterised the atmosphere of Jonathan Cape during this time: ‘Most people working in publishing would concede that from the late sixties to the early eighties Cape was the greatest literary publishing house in England… We were a team like no other. For both our authors and staff it was thrilling to belong to Cape. We occupied a house in Bedford Square, one of the most beautiful squares in England. As the door of number 30 opened, a sense of excitement and happy anticipation could be felt. It was such a stimulating place that the days were never long enough’ (Tom Maschler, Publisher, London, 2005, p. 64).

Although within the scope of this short narrative it is impossible to do justice to the full extent of Maschler’s career, even a small selection of the books produced under his aegis reveals the immense cultural impact of his publications. It is thanks to Maschler that the book on which Ernest Hemingway was working on at the time of his death was published as A Moveable Feast: the task of weaving together the great author’s ideas was, remarkably, the young Maschler’s first assignment at Jonathan Cape. Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 – which sold 50,000 copies in the first three months after publication - was another significant discovery. Gabriel García Márquez’s iconic One Hundred Years of Solitude (a personal favourite of Maschler’s) remains a phenomenon not only in South America, where the author is idolised, but on an international level. John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman was made into a film starring Meryl Streep, with Maschler as associate producer, whilst Ian McEwan’s Atonement made a similarly acclaimed transition to the cinema screen two decades later. A generation of children and adults alike have marveled at the pairing of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake in books such as Matilda and The Witches amongst many others, a union brilliantly master-minded by Maschler. Major works of non-fiction, such as The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris and The Human Body by David Pelham (the first non-fiction pop-up book) also owe their immense popularity to Maschler’s ceaseless championing.

Maschler began to apply his discerning eye to art in the early 1960s, building up a diverse collection over the following decades with passion and dedication. Part of the collection was kept in the glorious house in the South of France, Les Aspres, which Maschler lovingly built up and restored with his wife, Regina. Sotheby’s is delighted to offer this elegantly curated group, which reveals the impressive breadth of Maschler’s interests. Gustav Klimt’s exquisite Sitzende dame mit boa von vorne (seated lady with boa-frontal view) is a study for a portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, a celebrated muse and patron to the artist. Completely different in feel is Henri Martin’s Labastide du Vert, a view of the Lot Valley where he had a house: Martin adored the area and Labastide du Vert, with its gentle light and soft washes of colour, seems to be imbued with his love for the landscape. Joan Miró’s Composition is exuberant and joyful, whilst Cavallo e Cavaliere depicts the iconic theme of horse and rider which recurs within Marino Marini’s art to superb effect.

 

Glowing with a luminous and vibrant light, Labastide du Vert depicts a small village in North of Cahors near Toulouse, where Henri Martin bought a house in 1900. On the thirty acres of land stood a large seventeenth century house, named Marquayrol, and Martin became extremely attached to this property, so much so that its acquisition arguably marked a turning point in Martin’s career, encouraging him to abandon allegory and myth to fully devote himself to the representation of nature. Martin declared that: ‘My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased later, after three months in the country, face to face with nature. Trying to capture its diverse effects, I was compelled to paint it differently. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliged me to translate it any way I could, but other than using a loaded brush, through pointille and the breaking up of tone’ (quoted in Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, Eden Close at Hand: The Paintings of Henri Martin, 1860-1943, 2005, p. 26). In Marquayrol the landscape and surroundings served as a constant source of inspiration to Martin and he was determined to capture the change in light and tones which occurred during the day and throughout the seasons. 

Martin’s canvases are characteristically joyous expressions of light, colour and texture. His depictions of landscapes and architecture open a window to turn-of-the-century France animated by vivid palettes. Jac Martin-Ferrières, the artist's son, notes that: ‘Henri Martin was without contest an Impressionist and one who had the deepest sensitiveness, certainly equal to that of Monet, whom he most admired. Their interpretation of nature is certainly, owing to their utmost sensitiveness and not through research of a technical process, a poetical evocation hued by a thousand colours which can undoubtedly be called a work of art’ (Jacques Martin-Ferrières, Henri Martin, Paris, 1967, p. 35).