Eugène Cuvelier 1837-1900

The collection of John Chandler Bancroft, Middletown, Rhode Island

Gustave J. S. White Co., Auctioneers, Newport, Rhode Island, 1989

Acquired from the above by a New England antiques dealer

To the present owners, 1989

While it is unknown where this photograph was taken, the flatness of the land and the presence of the narrow river, or canal, suggest that Cuvelier's native Arras is the probable locale.  The landscape bears a notable similarity to that pictured in the two photographs by Eugène Cuvelier's father, Adalbert, present in the collection (Lots 26 and 27), both of them river views made in Arras.  As with Adalbert's photographs, the river in the present image is very likely the Scarpe, which flows through Arras, or one of the canals that connects to it.  This photograph shows Adalbert's influence upon Eugène's work, and it is probable that this unnumbered image is an early effort, made before Fontainebleau became the younger Cuvelier's primary subject matter.  While the photograph shows some compositional similarity with Adalbert's work, Eugène's predilection for bare trees (as opposed to trees in full leaf), and his rendering of their repetitive shapes as they recede into the distance, shows the young photographer already in full possession of his own distinctive photographic aesthetic.

Gauss lists only one print of this image: the salt print offered here.