Henri le Sidaner

The artist, France
Mrs. Richard Nuttall, Pittsburgh
Galerie Hopkins-Thomas, Paris
Private Collection, Europe (acquired from the above circa 1994 and sold: Christie's, New York, November 7, 2007, lot 395)
Acquired at the above sale

Pittsburgh, The Carnegie Institute, 1939, no. 37

Canvas is unlined. Edges are reinforced with tape. Colors are bright and fresh and a lively impasto is well preserved. Under UV light a few hairlines of inpainting at extreme left edge near lower left corner fluoresce and a nailhead size spot at extreme upper right corner. In addition a horizontal hairline, about half an inch in length, extends from left edge about a foot below the top edge and a pindot size spot of inpainting about twelve inches from the top edge and three inches in from the right edge fluoresces. Otherwise fine. This work is in very good condition.
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The first generation of Impressionist painters was highly influential to Le Sidaner, whose formative years occurred amidst the height of the Impressionist movement. At the age of twenty in 1882, the artist visited the seventh Impressionist Exhibition and became fascinated by the work of Claude Monet. Two years later his enthusiasm for the Impressionist style intensified after attenting a retrospective exhibition of Édouard Manet. 

Le Sidaner’s work parallels that of Monet in terms of style as well as choice of motif; both artists would reiterate the same subject matter in all seasons and during all times of the day in order to isolate the variations of light. The Impressionist technique of using short, fragmented brushstrokes and intensified colors was particularly suited to Le Sidaner’s desire to capture the nuances of natural light.

Le Port, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, is a rich depiction of a quiet harbor at sunrise. The artist’s careful attention to color, light and shadow build from the reflection of the sun on the houses at center to the dark ledge in the foreground, still in shadow from the preceding night.