Claude Monet

Léon Monet, Rouen (brother of the artist)

Private Collection, Paris

Wildenstein & Co., Paris & New York (acquired from the above in 1992)

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1994

New York, W.M. Brady & Co., Pictures and Oil Sketches 1775-1920, 2005, no. 20, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet. Catalogue Raisonné, vol. V, Lausanne, 1991, no. 1990, listed p. 4

Gary Tinterow, "The Realist Landscape," Origins of Impressionism (exhibition catalogue), Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris & The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994-95, discussed in citation no. 120, p. 420; fig. 94, illustrated p. 74

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet or the Triumph of Impressionism, vol. I, Cologne, 1996, illustrated in color p. 47

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, catalogue raisonné, vol. II, Cologne, 1996, no. 60a, illustrated in color p. 32

The canvas is relined. There are small areas of craqueleur in the more thickly painted areas, particularly in the upper left quadrant and the darker bark of the tree. Under ultra-violet light, there are some small spots of retouching along the upper framing edge and in the upper corners, as well as a few tiny spots in the top leaves of the tree. This work is in generally very good condition. Colors: The greens are lighter in reality and there is too much black in the catalogue illustration.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Painted during the formative years of the Impressionist movement, Monet's Un Chêne au Bas-Bréau, Le Bodmer, 1865, introduces the important stylistic developments that would transform avant-garde painting in the second half of the 19^th century.   Monet painted this depiction of a majestic oak in Fontainebleau forest, which had long been a favorite site for the Barbizon painter Karl Bodmer.  Although he was undoubtedly inspired by his Barbizon predecessors when choosing this subject, Monet takes a radically new approach to rendering the great oak en plein-air.   Using a palette of varying shades of green, he applies strokes of pure color directly onto his canvas to create a startlingly fresh interpretation of the effects of light and shadow.   He positions his easel in the shade of the sturdy branches, capturing the brilliant light filtering through the leaves and highlighting the knotted crevices of the bark.

The Bodmer Oak was first painted by the Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, who exhibited his canvas in the Salon of 1850.  This impressive tree soon became a popular subject among contemporary artists, including the photographer Gustave Le Gray, whose photograph of the oak and its surroundings Monet may have seen around the time he painted the present work.  In fact, the present picture is closely related to a larger canvas that Monet completed in 1865, which is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  Both the present work and the canvas at the Metropolitan bear similarities to Le Gray's painterly photograph, in which no detail of nature is eliminated from the composition.