Henri Lebasque

Galerie de l'Élysée, Paris
Galerie Marcel Bernheim, Paris
Sale: Rheims, Paris, May 2, 1955, lot 114
Sale: Loudmer, Paris, June 8, 1969, lot 95
Galerie Spiess, Paris
Galerie Boulakia, Paris (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 5, 1982, lot 255)
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Galerie de L'Élysée, Les Peintres du Coudon, 1951

Denise Bazetoux, Henri Lebasque, Catalogue raisonné, vol. I, Paris, 2008, no. 1363, illustrated p. 329

The canvas is unlined. The edges are reinforced with tape. The surface is nicely textured especially in the pinks and oranges in the foreground. There are a few scattered hairline cracks predominantly in darkest green pigment. Under UV light the surface of the canvas appears to be very well preserved, although there may be an older generation of retouching to the extreme edges as well as one thin line of retouching in the center of the canvas, just below the greenery. Otherwise fine. 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.
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.

“To paint in the light and in the joy, spontaneously, gently and without perceptible effort. This appears to be the function and the genius of Henri Lebasque” (Paul Vitry, Henri Lebasque, Paris, 1928, n.p.). Lebasque is perhaps most regarded for his Intimiste works, which focused on the domestic sphere, yet Le Coudon, Le Pradet is a prime example of the artist’s fascination with the portrayal of women and children and his ability to depict their beauty in all surroundings. Set against the backdrop of a sweeping landscape, the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to the three figures in the foreground. These figures are entirely characteristic of Lebasque's figure painting, rendered with an economy of brushstrokes notable lack of detailed facial features, thereby prioritizing the effects of light on color and form. It must be said this absence does not take away from the artist’s obvious connection with his subjects; as Lisa Banner notes, Lebasque “achieves greater intimacy with…this technique, leaving them the anonymity of disguise by careful omission of facial distinction” (Lisa Banner, Lebasque (exhibition catalogue), Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, 1986, n.p.).

As she further writes, he was “hailed as the painter of ‘joy and light’ by art critics and curators of the Louvre in his later life. But Lebasque’s primary concerns were with simple expression of sensuous surface…which was replete with his personal delight in form and color” (Lisa Banner, Lebasque, 1865-1873, San Francisco, 1985, p. 20). The present work is quintessentially Lebasque, with areas of strong color and light with areas of cool shade, together forming a scene of absolute tranquility. Despite his brilliant palette and gently abstracted figures, Lebasque's technique further evokes the undeniable influence of Impressionist master Camille Pissarro, whom Lebasque studied under when he first arrived in Paris in 1885.