Henri Martin

Galerie Georges Petit, Paris
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above in 1929)
Private Collection, France (by descent from the above and sold: Sotheby’s, London, June 29, 1988, lot 144)
Richard Green Fine Paintings, London (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above in February 1989

The canvas is not lined. The surface is richly textured and impasto well preserved. Under UV light, certain original pigments fluoresce and there are some minor scattered strokes visible in areas of the sky, particularly to the left of the left central tree. There is a horizontal 3 inch line of in-painting to the upper right edge of the bassin as well as a couple more modest spots including a quarter inch area in the lower left center of the bassin between the shadows of the trees. There are some very minor scattered strokes of in-painting in the gate. The work is in overall 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.

In 1900, Henri Martin bought a property in Labastide-du-Vert, a small village near Toulouse in France's Midi-Pyrénées region. Marquayrol, a large seventeenth-century house overlooking the rolling thirty-acre property, would become not only Martin’s summer home but also the backdrop for his newfound artistic style; surrounded by the French countryside, he abandons his early representations of allegory and myth and shifts his focus to depictions of nature. As the artist Martin mused: "My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased...after three months in the country, face to face with nature. Trying to capture its diverse effects, I was compelled to paint it differently. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliged me to translate it any way I could, but other than using a loaded brush—through pointillé and the breaking up of tone" (quoted in Eden Close at Hand: The Paintings of Henri Martin (exhibition catalogue), Beverly Hills, 2005, p. 26).

The works from this period are considered to be some of Martin's most notable compositions. As the artist once said, "My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased later, after three months in the country, face to face with nature. Trying to capture its diverse effects, I was compelled to paint it differently. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliged me to translate it any way I could, but other than using a loaded brush, through pointille and the breaking up of tone" (quoted in Henri Martin (exhibition catalogue), Musée Henri Martin, Cahors, 1992, p. 89).