HENRI LE SIDANER | La Table, soleil dans les feuilles, Gerberoy

Galeries Georges Petit, Paris
Private Collection
Richard Green Fine Paintings, Ltd., London
Private Collection, California (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2011, lot 155)
Richard Green Fine Paintings, Ltd., London (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above

Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, L'Oeuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, no. 374, illustrated p. 152

The work is in excellent condition overall. The canvas is unlined. The surface retains a rich impasto. Under UV light, a tiny spot of inpainting just below the center upper edge is apparent, as well as two small spots just above the lower center edge. A few other dark pigments fluoresce, but are original and no other inpainting is apparent.
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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.

Henri Le Sidaner first visited Gerberoy in March 1901 while searching for a suitable country home to serve as an escape from the worldly bustle of Paris. His son Rémy recalls that his father "longed to plan a garden of his own, in which the landscape would be designed by him personally and in which he could achieve his favorite light effects. He mentioned this project to Auguste Rodin, who directed him to the Beauvais area. A potter living in Beauvais, answering to the name of Delaherche, recommended the village of Gerberoy” (quoted in Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, op. cit., p. 14). 

Le Sidaner rented a small cottage in the picturesque fortress town, eventually purchasing it in 1904. Situated sixty-five miles northwest of Paris on the border between Picardy and Normandy, Gerberoy is notable for its quaint blend of brick frame, timber homes and cobblestone streets. The property he acquired was ideal for the ambitious plans he had for remodeling and extending the space, which he accomplished in 1910. These renovations included an extension of the main house, the creation of a pavilion, studio barn and tower and cultivation of extensive gardens. Like Monet's home and garden in Giverny, Le Sidaner’s home in Gerberoy was carefully constructed and arranged to provide endless artistic inspiration. He paid particular attention to the flower garden in the courtyard, aiming to create harmony between the house and gardens with the outdoor space flowing indoors and vice-versa.

The present work was painted at the height of Le Sidaner’s artistic prowess and sets a tender and atmospheric tone. A characteristic sense of understated mystery pervades the scene, a result of his Symbolist roots. The artist meditates on the subject of light and color, the yellow of the wine glass in the foreground echoing throughout the glimmering sunlight of the ivy spanning the house’s exterior. The carefully constructed still life, set outdoors, is typical of Le Sidaner's oeuvre of this time as is the complete lack of figures: “he considered that the silent harmony of things is enough to evoke the presence of those who live among them. Indeed, such presences are felt throughout his works. Deserted they may be but never empty” (Camille Mauclair, Henri Le Sidaner, Paris, 1928, p. 12).