勒邁耶

私人收藏，比利時
阿姆斯特丹蘇富比，2009年4月22日，拍品編號165
私人收藏，新加坡

比利時布魯塞爾，Van Loo 畫廊，1981年12月19日

Jop Ubbens 與 Cathinka Huizing，《勒邁耶 1880 - 1958年：畫家/旅者》，荷蘭，Pictures Publishers，1995年，第43頁，彩圖版56

The work is in good condition overall, as is the canvas, which is clear and taut. There is indication of light wear and handling along the edges but paint layers are healthy and stable. Upon close observation, there is evidence of scattered networks of gentle craquelures on the surface. Under ultraviolent examination reveals restoration on the foot area of the figures which is not visible to the naked eye. Framed.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Born into a Belgium aristocratic family in 1880, the artist Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès devoted his life to the pursuit of beauty. Fascinated by the evanescent quality of sunlight and colors in nature, the young artist journeyed to far corners of the world immersing himself in the complete study of light. At the age of barely twenty-one, Le Mayeur swam away from his ship that was about to cast anchor at San Francisco with the secret mission to venture the Americas.¹ It was an ambitious quest driven by his unquenchable curiosity to make sense of the world less known. The artist’s first taste of life abroad formed a lasting impression—an undertaking he resumed with full force soon after World War I that brought him across Europe, Africa, French Polynesia and Asia.

Le Mayeur, having demonstrated his skills as a painter as early as 1906 at the 13^th exhibition of La Libre Esthétique² and then as a notable civilian-artist during World War I,³ attracted the special attention of Co. Felix Mommen. The Brussels based company became the artist’s business representatives who offered his paintings for sale throughout Europe while Le Mayeur embarked on painting excursions abroad.⁴ The present work entitled Street In An African Town is the only known work on canvas from his African travel series, and may have possibly been shown at Galerie Georges Giroux in Brussels from 20 December to 31 December 1924, which was Le Mayeur’s first post-war solo exhibition showcasing over 200 works.⁵ The painting portrays a day-to-day market scene in a town of North Africa: merchants of Berber descent dressed in religious robes and headscarves are heading out to commence their daily trades with neighboring cities. Soaking the painting in glorious morning light, Le Mayeur effectively communicates time via the vivid shadows casted upon the variety of textures within the painting. With a few simple strokes, he swiftly captures the angle of sunlight, which is most brilliantly executed on the canopies of the fruit stalls. The intersection of the road with the distant mosque forms an inward-pointing-triangle that takes up almost exactly one fourth of the pictorial space, achieving compositional symmetry and balance. This invites the viewer to enter into the very moment portrayed.

Le Mayeur’s intense focus on subjects that intrigued him almost always verged on being a chronic fixation. Two separate sketches illustrating the same byway were made prior to this final oil on canvas version, where the composition is enlarged and the angle of light perfected.⁶ Juxtaposing the studies with the final piece allowed us to better understand the artist’s working method:

“He usually began with location sketches, a method he continued even in his later works, as we were to find out. The angle of the light in the final painting would first be tried out in crayon and/or pastel on paper. Letters show that he always painted on the spot, ‘en plein air’ (open air). Sometimes he even worked on two canvasses simultaneously. In that case he would create two versions of a given subject, representing it in both the morning and the afternoon.”⁷

The present work is therefore an exemplar of a distinctive artistic phase in Le Mayeur’s life: it is an extremely rare painting executed during his most active years of traveling and the most formative years of self-discovery. Here, Le Mayeur demonstrates his virtuosity in color-mixing: the white mosque in the background is tinted with a pale shade of pink while the cobblestone ground, grey at first glance, is nevertheless composed of colors beyond one’s imagination. Highlighted by the brilliant hues of reds, yellows and blues, the impastos add texture and spontaneity. The method of painting en plein air coupled with the impressionistic brushstrokes and dreamy pastel colors shares similar aesthetic sensibilities with the earlier European masters such as Claude Monet. Yet, the exotic subject matter valiantly testifies to the artist’s audacious spirit—a unique disposition that ultimately guided him to the tropical paradise of Bali.

¹Jop Ubbens and Cathinka Huizing, Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur De Merprès: Painter-Traveller, Wijk En Allburg, Amsterdam, 1995

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