Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer

Sale: Christie's, London, 29 November 1994, lot 104
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Brussels, Galérie des artistes français, Lévy-Dhurmer, 1927-28
Takamatsu, City Museum; Tokyo, Bunkamura Museum of Fine Arts; Himeji, City Museum of Art: Symbolisme en Europe, 1996-97, no. 11, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Die Nacht, 1998-99, no. 219, illustrated in the catalogue
Brescia, Palazzo Martinengo, Da Pont-Aven ai Nabis, 1999, illustrated in the catalogue
Verona, Palazzo delle Ragione, Il settimo splendore, la Modernita della Malinconia, 2007, illustrated in the catalogue
Bern, Kunstmuseum; Lugano, Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Mythes et mystères, le Symbolisme et les artistes suisses, 2013, no. 8, illustrated in the catalogue

Valentina Anker, Le Symbolisme suisse - destins croisés avec l'art européen, Berne, 2009, p. 27, illustrated

This work is in very good condition, with fresh and bold pigments, and is ready to hang. The sheet has been laid down onto the backboard. When viewed out of the frame only, some intermittent old spots of adhesive are visible at the extreme edges of sheet (not affecting the composition), and there is a very small indentation in the dark pigments of the arch, visible only under close inspection. Presented in a decorative gilt frame, under glass.
"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."

Lévy-Dhurmer's work first came to public attention for his illustrations for the book of poems, Bruges-la-Morte composed by the Belgian Symbolist poet Georges Rodenbach and published in 1892.

It was in the early 1890s also that Lévy-Dhurmer began to work primarily in pastel, the medium imbuing his compositions with an ethereal, dream-like quality. He visited Venice in 1895, and had his first one-man show at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris the following year.

The present work bears clear parallels to the work of Whistler (fig. 1) as well as Henri le Sidaner and Claude Monet, the latter two likewise evoking the grandeur and mystery of Venice in their work and who also exhibited at Galerie Georges Petit.