1879
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Art on paper Children Self portrait II Music and dance Degas Manet Swiss painting Russia 1700-1900
See also : Art on paper Children Self portrait II Music and dance Degas Manet Swiss painting Russia 1700-1900
DEGAS
1
Danseuse au Repos
2008 SOLD for $ 37M by Sotheby's
Degas became interested in the world of dance at the instigation of his friend Ludovic Halévy. In 1875 the inauguration of the Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier opened a new phase in his life and in his art. He attends the performances that take place three times a week, and his subscription allows an unlimited access behind the scenes.
The "petits rats" are of great interest to him. These very young women do not have that need for sexual activity which masks the psychological authenticity of the prostitutes. Their lives are exhausting, in training and on stage, but the glory may reward their efforts.
Degas did not rule out any technique. In 1875 he was seduced by the use of pastel enhanced with gouache on paper. Unlike oil and watercolor, this opaque material very easily allows the many reworks desired by the artist throughout the execution of an artwork.
In 1880 at the 5th impressionist exhibition, Degas displays a pastel and gouache 46 x 67 cm titled Deux danseuses, probably made in 1879. After an exhausting exercise, two ballerinas in tutu are seated side by side on a bench. They ignore each other, only trying to catch their breath, the body leaning forward.
The artist painted in the same technique another work, 59 x 64 cm, titled Danseuse au repos. It was sold for $ 37M by Sotheby's on November 3, 2008, lot 14. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The girl on the right side in Deux Danseuses is in exactly the same attitude as before, with the left hand massaging the painful ankle and the other hand resting on the other knee. With her frail limbs and her upturned nose, this young woman has a resemblance to Marie, the model of the sculpture titled Petite danseuse de quatorze ans made by Degas around the same time. In a bold composition as Degas liked, her partner is almost entirely out of field.
The "petits rats" are of great interest to him. These very young women do not have that need for sexual activity which masks the psychological authenticity of the prostitutes. Their lives are exhausting, in training and on stage, but the glory may reward their efforts.
Degas did not rule out any technique. In 1875 he was seduced by the use of pastel enhanced with gouache on paper. Unlike oil and watercolor, this opaque material very easily allows the many reworks desired by the artist throughout the execution of an artwork.
In 1880 at the 5th impressionist exhibition, Degas displays a pastel and gouache 46 x 67 cm titled Deux danseuses, probably made in 1879. After an exhausting exercise, two ballerinas in tutu are seated side by side on a bench. They ignore each other, only trying to catch their breath, the body leaning forward.
The artist painted in the same technique another work, 59 x 64 cm, titled Danseuse au repos. It was sold for $ 37M by Sotheby's on November 3, 2008, lot 14. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The girl on the right side in Deux Danseuses is in exactly the same attitude as before, with the left hand massaging the painful ankle and the other hand resting on the other knee. With her frail limbs and her upturned nose, this young woman has a resemblance to Marie, the model of the sculpture titled Petite danseuse de quatorze ans made by Degas around the same time. In a bold composition as Degas liked, her partner is almost entirely out of field.
1 bis
for reference
Deux Danseuses
Shelburne Museum
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
Miss Cassatt au Musée du Louvre
2002 SOLD for $ 16.5M by Sotheby's
Degas and Cassatt met in 1877. They were artistically very close. In 1879 Mary contributed for the first time to an Exposition des Impressionnistes after being invited by Degas. Degas made in that year a series of pastels on a visit of Mary Cassatt and her sister in the Musée du Louvre.
On May 8, 2002, Sotheby's sold for $ 16.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12M a pastel 72 x 54 cm on 7 joined paper sheets, lot 13, featuring a standing Mary Cassatt and her seated sister in a gallery of paintings of the Musée du Louvre. Mary turns her back to the viewer and leans on her umbrella.
On May 8, 2002, Sotheby's sold for $ 16.5M from a lower estimate of $ 12M a pastel 72 x 54 cm on 7 joined paper sheets, lot 13, featuring a standing Mary Cassatt and her seated sister in a gallery of paintings of the Musée du Louvre. Mary turns her back to the viewer and leans on her umbrella.
1879 MONET
Claude Monet had developed in Argenteuil his new style of painting that became the most typical impressionism : drawing no longer exists, replaced by spots and textures while fully respecting perspective and proportions. Argenteuil was nevertheless no longer suitable to meet his artistic requirements. His search for the expression of landscape made him travel across Normandie.
He leaves Argenteuil in 1878 due to financial difficulties and settles at Vétheuil, an untouched village further along the Seine, with his beloved wife Camille and a couple of friends, Ernest and Alice Hoschedé. This period also marks his parting away from the Impressionniste group.
1879 is a very bad year. Camille, who had been nursed by Alice during her terminal illness, dies in September. Claude had used much his remaining money for her medical care.
Monet continues nevertheless to paint. His favorite theme is the changes of light over the Seine river, at Vétheuil and in the village across the river, Lavacourt. He produced about 150 outdoor paintings during his three years at Vetheuil, his last residence before Giverny.
He leaves Argenteuil in 1878 due to financial difficulties and settles at Vétheuil, an untouched village further along the Seine, with his beloved wife Camille and a couple of friends, Ernest and Alice Hoschedé. This period also marks his parting away from the Impressionniste group.
1879 is a very bad year. Camille, who had been nursed by Alice during her terminal illness, dies in September. Claude had used much his remaining money for her medical care.
Monet continues nevertheless to paint. His favorite theme is the changes of light over the Seine river, at Vétheuil and in the village across the river, Lavacourt. He produced about 150 outdoor paintings during his three years at Vetheuil, his last residence before Giverny.
1
winter or December 1879 La Route de Vétheuil, effet de neige
2017 SOLD for $ 11.4M by Christie's
Snow and frost have been a favorite theme to Monet from his beginning, with a climax in Argenteuil in the winter 1874-1875. It is arguably in that hard winter that Monet enjoyed the quieter human activity in frosty conditions, before leaving forever Argenteuil threatened by the bustling urban life.
La Mare (effet de neige), oil on canvas 60 x 82 cm, dated 1875 by the artist, was sold for $ 25.6M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 18C. An oil on canvas 61 x 100 cm painted in 1875 showing the melting snow on the banks at Epinay, upstream of Argenteuil, was sold for $ 6.4M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2015, lot 49.
Extreme weather conditions reappear in the winter 1878-1879 which was Monet's first winter in Vétheuil.
La route de Vétheuil, effet de neige, features a heavy snow blanketing the road at the entrance of the village, with a single character silhouetted against sunlight. The gray sky lets foresee a new storm. It is dated 1879 by the artist but experts dispute if it had been executed early in the year or in December. This oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm is followed by a nearly identical view of same size painted while snow was melting.
The opus with thicker snow was in 1913 one of only five paintings by Monet to appear in the Armory Show exhibition. It remained in one wealthy family in New Orleans until being sold for $ 11.4M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 20A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Monet used to paint his frozen sceneries outdoors, quickly, with gloves. He had a foot warmer and three layers of overcoats.
La Mare (effet de neige), oil on canvas 60 x 82 cm, dated 1875 by the artist, was sold for $ 25.6M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 18C. An oil on canvas 61 x 100 cm painted in 1875 showing the melting snow on the banks at Epinay, upstream of Argenteuil, was sold for $ 6.4M by Sotheby's on May 5, 2015, lot 49.
Extreme weather conditions reappear in the winter 1878-1879 which was Monet's first winter in Vétheuil.
La route de Vétheuil, effet de neige, features a heavy snow blanketing the road at the entrance of the village, with a single character silhouetted against sunlight. The gray sky lets foresee a new storm. It is dated 1879 by the artist but experts dispute if it had been executed early in the year or in December. This oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm is followed by a nearly identical view of same size painted while snow was melting.
The opus with thicker snow was in 1913 one of only five paintings by Monet to appear in the Armory Show exhibition. It remained in one wealthy family in New Orleans until being sold for $ 11.4M by Christie's on May 15, 2017, lot 20A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Monet used to paint his frozen sceneries outdoors, quickly, with gloves. He had a foot warmer and three layers of overcoats.
1 bis
for reference
with melting snow
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The image is shared by Wikimedia, with attribution Claude Monet, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2
spring Vétheuil
2018 SOLD for £ 7.5M by Christie's
During the spring of 1879, Claude Monet was desperate about Camille's health. His creativity helped him to fight his sorrow. He managed to multiply the viewpoints in the vicinity of his home, sometimes using his studio boat, revisiting the same place after a weather change. The details of nature are captured by a light brushwork, as direct as a drawing.
Vétheuil, oil on canvas 65 x 92 cm, is one of these quiet views painted during that difficult period of spring and early summer with Camille in a terrible pain. It features the village clustered around its church, viewed from the shore. The sunny landscape is radiant in bright colors with a full veil of clouds and their reflection in the river.
It was sold for £ 7.5M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on February 27, 2018, lot 27. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Vétheuil, oil on canvas 65 x 92 cm, is one of these quiet views painted during that difficult period of spring and early summer with Camille in a terrible pain. It features the village clustered around its church, viewed from the shore. The sunny landscape is radiant in bright colors with a full veil of clouds and their reflection in the river.
It was sold for £ 7.5M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on February 27, 2018, lot 27. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
3
summer La Seine à Lavacourt
2018 SOLD for $ 15.8M by Christie's
La Seine à Lavacourt, oil on canvas 60 x 82 cm painted by Monet in 1879, was sold by Christie's on May 8, 2018 for $ 15.8M from a lower estimate of $ 8M, lot 11 in the auction of the Rockefeller collection. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This river scenery with the village on the other shore was made in a hot summer morning with a lot of cottony cumulus passing in the blue sky. The early morning light illuminates the houses. The water is rippled by a breeze, canceling the details of the reflection. The foreground is fully filled by the waters.
The view is taken from Monet's garden which extended down to the shore. He moored his studio boat at that place.
In 1878 and 1879 Monet had executed seven variations of this landscape, making it the very first example of these series based on variations of the light with season, time and weather which will make him busy for the rest of his long career. Other views illustrate fog, cloudy sky, sunset.
Three of these views, including the example detailed above, were sold at good prices, helping Monet to be relieved from his financial hardships.
This river scenery with the village on the other shore was made in a hot summer morning with a lot of cottony cumulus passing in the blue sky. The early morning light illuminates the houses. The water is rippled by a breeze, canceling the details of the reflection. The foreground is fully filled by the waters.
The view is taken from Monet's garden which extended down to the shore. He moored his studio boat at that place.
In 1878 and 1879 Monet had executed seven variations of this landscape, making it the very first example of these series based on variations of the light with season, time and weather which will make him busy for the rest of his long career. Other views illustrate fog, cloudy sky, sunset.
Three of these views, including the example detailed above, were sold at good prices, helping Monet to be relieved from his financial hardships.
1879 ANKER
Intro
Trained in Paris, Albert Anker maintained a unique style that kindly showcases the family rural life.
He has no equal for portraits of children and of elderly people because he never falls into the sentimentality of a Bouguereau, for example. And even if the clothes are old-fashioned, the art of Anker has a timeless appeal.
The children, always serious, learn to become young Swiss people in a mood of security and quietness. The theme of the baby and the older sister is one of his favorites.
He has no equal for portraits of children and of elderly people because he never falls into the sentimentality of a Bouguereau, for example. And even if the clothes are old-fashioned, the art of Anker has a timeless appeal.
The children, always serious, learn to become young Swiss people in a mood of security and quietness. The theme of the baby and the older sister is one of his favorites.
1
Turnstunde in Ins
2013 SOLD for CHF 7.5M by Koller
Following the reorganization of the Swiss army in 1874, gymnastics became a compulsory school branch for all boys aged 10 and over.
In 1879 Albert Anker uses that novelty as a genre theme in his native village of Ins in the canton of Bern. Boys are standing in two rows in the yard while the schoolmaster is directing the movement. The first row starts a goose step and the second row is keeping steady. All around the peaceful attendance includes younger children and two villagers with a wheel cart.The sunny weather and blue sky add a happy atmosphere.
Turnstunde in Ins, oil on canvas 96 x 148 cm, was sold for CHF 7.5M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.5M by Koller on June 21, 2013, lot 3012. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1879 Albert Anker uses that novelty as a genre theme in his native village of Ins in the canton of Bern. Boys are standing in two rows in the yard while the schoolmaster is directing the movement. The first row starts a goose step and the second row is keeping steady. All around the peaceful attendance includes younger children and two villagers with a wheel cart.The sunny weather and blue sky add a happy atmosphere.
Turnstunde in Ins, oil on canvas 96 x 148 cm, was sold for CHF 7.5M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.5M by Koller on June 21, 2013, lot 3012. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
1879 Schulmädchen
2011 SOLD for CHF 5.6M by Beurret et Bailly
Schulmädchen bei den Hausaufgaben, oil on canvas 65 x 50 cm made by Anker in 1879, was sold for CHF 5.6M from a lower estimate of CHF 1.2M by Beurret & Bailly on June 18, 2011, lot 26. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
It features a young schoolgirl seriously writing on a slate board on her lap..
It features a young schoolgirl seriously writing on a slate board on her lap..
1879 Les Rosiers à Wargemont by Renoir
2004 SOLD for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's
From 1878 Paul Bérard was a close friend and an influential patron to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who managed to paint the portraits of his wife and their four children.
From July to September, 1879, Renoir made a stay in the residence of Bérard, the château de Wargemont, a 18th century manor house within a beautiful countryside near the port town of Dieppe.
Les Rosiers à Wargemont is a view of that opulent building whose front side is half hidden behind the rose garden. This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2004, lot 43. The human presence is reduced to two tiny figures entering the house in the distance. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Executed in the same summer, La Route à Wargemont, oil on canvas 55 x 66 cm, was sold for $ 4.8M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 54C. A group of women and children gathers far away on the road amidst lush gardens with the seaside as the background. The fluid brushstrokes of rich colors restitutes the ephemeral effect of sunlight and shadow. The atmosphere is quickly captured by the outdoor painting while some details could have been added in the studio.
From July to September, 1879, Renoir made a stay in the residence of Bérard, the château de Wargemont, a 18th century manor house within a beautiful countryside near the port town of Dieppe.
Les Rosiers à Wargemont is a view of that opulent building whose front side is half hidden behind the rose garden. This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold for $ 7.5M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2004, lot 43. The human presence is reduced to two tiny figures entering the house in the distance. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Executed in the same summer, La Route à Wargemont, oil on canvas 55 x 66 cm, was sold for $ 4.8M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 54C. A group of women and children gathers far away on the road amidst lush gardens with the seaside as the background. The fluid brushstrokes of rich colors restitutes the ephemeral effect of sunlight and shadow. The atmosphere is quickly captured by the outdoor painting while some details could have been added in the studio.
1879-1880 CEZANNE in Melun
Intro
Influenced by Pissarro, Paul Cézanne tries the Impressionnisme. Art critics do not follow him, even those who are supporting the new trend. He understands that the freedom of the impressionist hand does not fit his intentions but keeps from them the decisive incentive of outdoor painting for expressing the nature.
Cézanne indeed considers that a landscape or a still life is a construction of geometric elements : sphere, cylinder, cone. Houses are cubes. Colors may be excessive if it helps to express a feeling. Modern art is in germ in this profession of faith of an artist often isolated by his difficult temper.
Cézanne was born in Provence, but it took to the quieting of his relationship with his family in 1878 for him to test his theories with the stunning scenery of his native province. The brain controls the hand and his decidedly non impressionistic brush strokes are now composing a dense pattern of slightly oblique lines.
From April 1879 to March 1880 Cézanne lives in Melun. Retrieving the softly waving hills and the villages of Ile de France, he goes forward with his new style. His art is rare and experimental with a large variety of themes during that period.
Cézanne indeed considers that a landscape or a still life is a construction of geometric elements : sphere, cylinder, cone. Houses are cubes. Colors may be excessive if it helps to express a feeling. Modern art is in germ in this profession of faith of an artist often isolated by his difficult temper.
Cézanne was born in Provence, but it took to the quieting of his relationship with his family in 1878 for him to test his theories with the stunning scenery of his native province. The brain controls the hand and his decidedly non impressionistic brush strokes are now composing a dense pattern of slightly oblique lines.
From April 1879 to March 1880 Cézanne lives in Melun. Retrieving the softly waving hills and the villages of Ile de France, he goes forward with his new style. His art is rare and experimental with a large variety of themes during that period.
1
Poires dans une Assiette Blanche
2017 SOLD for $ 6.8M by Christie's
Titled Pommes et Gâteaux, an oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted before 1877 displays an arrangement on the top of a rustic chest. The pieces of furniture and dishes were probably images of real artefacts owned by the artist in his apartment at Montparnasse.
The stem bowl on the left side carries a total of six apples at two levels. The upper fruit is posed on the circle of the five others. Two of these apples are hidden behind the other fruits, providing a sense of mysterious balance of the pile. The artist will often reuse this effect.
The rest of the image is divided between a plate of cakes and a group of apples directly placed on the top of the chest.
Pommes et Gâteaux was probably one of the three still lifes from sixteen paintings entered by Cézanne at the Third Impressionist Exhibition in 1877. It was sold for $ 10.3M by Christie's on November 1, 2005, lot 4.
During the harsh winter 1879-1880 in Melun, Cézanne made his hand in indoor tabletop including simpler fruit arrangements with apples, peaches and pears. This series is made of about a dozen compositions.
Poires dans une assiette blanche, oil on canvas 18.5 x 38 cm, belongs to the Melun period by its unusual elongated format and the strong geometry departing from impressionism. The dark background is echoed by the shadows of a fruit on the plate edge and of the plate on the table. The three pears display subtle complementary hues within the green.
It was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 13, 2017, lot 45A.
In the follow of the Melun series, Cézanne tries representing the unbalance. Quatre pommes features four apples in a chance arrangement upon a tilted tabletop, without providing an explanation on why these fruit are not rolling down.
This oil on an elongated canvas format 21 x 34.4 cm painted probably in Paris in 1880-1881 was sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 25C.
The stem bowl on the left side carries a total of six apples at two levels. The upper fruit is posed on the circle of the five others. Two of these apples are hidden behind the other fruits, providing a sense of mysterious balance of the pile. The artist will often reuse this effect.
The rest of the image is divided between a plate of cakes and a group of apples directly placed on the top of the chest.
Pommes et Gâteaux was probably one of the three still lifes from sixteen paintings entered by Cézanne at the Third Impressionist Exhibition in 1877. It was sold for $ 10.3M by Christie's on November 1, 2005, lot 4.
During the harsh winter 1879-1880 in Melun, Cézanne made his hand in indoor tabletop including simpler fruit arrangements with apples, peaches and pears. This series is made of about a dozen compositions.
Poires dans une assiette blanche, oil on canvas 18.5 x 38 cm, belongs to the Melun period by its unusual elongated format and the strong geometry departing from impressionism. The dark background is echoed by the shadows of a fruit on the plate edge and of the plate on the table. The three pears display subtle complementary hues within the green.
It was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 13, 2017, lot 45A.
In the follow of the Melun series, Cézanne tries representing the unbalance. Quatre pommes features four apples in a chance arrangement upon a tilted tabletop, without providing an explanation on why these fruit are not rolling down.
This oil on an elongated canvas format 21 x 34.4 cm painted probably in Paris in 1880-1881 was sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 25C.
2
View of Melun
2024 SOLD for $ 6.1M by Christie's
In the enthusiasm of his pictorial revolution, Cézanne had possibly reinvented the landscape more than it was necessary in period. While respecting proportions and perspective as Monet was doing, his art leaves resolutely away from any photographic realism.
The view of a village beyond a river is certainly Melun from Le Mée-sur-Seine. This oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm was sold for $ 6.1M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 19, 2024, lot 57A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The view of a village beyond a river is certainly Melun from Le Mée-sur-Seine. This oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm was sold for $ 6.1M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 19, 2024, lot 57A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
