ADRIEN JEAN LE MAYEUR DE MERPRÈS | Two Women Shaded by an Umbrella

Acquired directly from the artist
Private Collection, Mexico
Collection Collate/Van Peperstraten, Holland
Sotheby's Singapore, 16 May 1998, lot 28
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Private European Collection

Singapore, YWCA building, February - March 1937
(Perhaps included in the above exhibition as nr. 8: 'Under the Shade of the Umbrella') 

Jop Ubbens, Cathinka Huizing, Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, 1880-1958: Painter-Traveller/Schilder-Reiziger, Amsterdam 1995, page 118, colour plate 179.
Also illustrated on the front cover

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. There is some craquelure to the paint, but this is stable, consistent with the age of the work and only visible upon very close inspection. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals some restoration along the edges and corners of the work, some very tiny and minor spots of restoration spread sporadically, example at the pink sarong, at the background on the right side of the composition, and at the bright green foliage along the left edge. Framed, in the artist's original hand-carved Balinese frame.
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.

One of the most iconic works by Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, Two Women Shaded by an Umbrella is an undeniably captivating masterpiece by the formidable artist.   Exemplifying the rapture and romanticism of Le Mayeur’s strongest Balinese works, the painting was chosen to grace the cover of the artist’s catalogue raisonné. This exquisite image is singularly significant in Le Mayeur’s opus and a paradigm of the maestro’s endless search for light.

Enraptured by the tropical environs of Bali, Le Mayeur devoted his life to capturing the sublime effects of the island and renders in his paintings the warm glow of the sultry sun.  Brimming with buoyant chromatism, Two Women Shaded by an Umbrella features possibly two of the artist’s favoured models, his wife Ni Pollok and Ni Nyong, amongst temple structures and lush interweaving verdure. Executed in a predominantly pastel palette, thin vitreous applications of paint, this work is characteristic of Le Mayeur’s pre-war period (1932-1937) works that lacks the darker intensity and detailing of his later pieces. Some scholars suggest that the painting was perhaps included in the 1937 Singapore exhibition as ‘Under the Shade of the Umbrella”¹, the simple composition belies the subtlety of Le Mayeur’s remarkable fluidity of form and his dexterous brushwork.

Iridescent colours dance across the canvas with a lightness and acuity that is synonymous with a master of Impressionism. In a pure and almost naive manner, the artist embraces fresh colours – verdant greens, burnt oranges, mossy browns and brilliant yellows – to great effect. The two women are embraced by the tropical greenery and architectural shade, as if hiding momentarily from the fieriness of an afternoon sun. The incandescence of the scene creates an overwhelming sense of tranquillity. Time seems suspended as the two figures retreat into their intimate abode, brought closer together as they share the restful shade of an umbrella.

Placed at the centre of the enclave, the women embody the elegance and sensuality of Balinese beauty. Their tanned skin is blistered in tones of orange and umber, while the sunlight pierces through bright yellow umbrella angled downwards to shield their faces. Poignantly poised, the women’s gentile composure suggests an unawareness of the viewer, as they appear to gather delicate stalks of flowers. Le Mayeur highlights the delicacy of their frames with attentive lines, while their ruby red and emerald green sarongs serve as contrast and relief.

The canopy of the umbrella is painted with bright and muted tones of golden yellow to demarcate light and shadow. Le Mayeur adds a dash of radiant yellow paint, which seems to pool at the foot of the two figures almost like the overflow of sunlight from the umbrella.The interplay between rich impastoed areas with finer washes distinguishes between background and foreground. The flora and temple are executed with swift dabs of thinner pigment while the women and the small Balinese sculptures are rendered with heavier dabs of richer and thicker pigment. The blossoms of flowers are deliberately denser and the brushwork looser, almost dancing around the centre of the work, leading the viewer’s eye towards the two women. Playing with the depth of field, Le Mayeur delineates the mass of intertwined flora, foliage and sculptures in the background simply. In doing so drawing the viewer’s attention directly to the figures to the centre of the work. The amalgamation of the different elements within this spectacular picture transports us into this rarefied and almost otherworldly scene of an old Bali, a sacred paradise that we can only rely on artists like Le Mayeur to capture that experience at that moment in time.

^[1] Jop Ubbens, Cathinka Huizing, Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, 1880-1958: Painter-Traveller/Schilder-Reiziger, Amsterdam 1995, page 118