Decade 1870-1879
See also : Art on paper France Paris Monet Monet before 1900 George IV to Victoria
US painting before 1940 Man and woman Self portrait Self portrait II Children Groups Music and dance Cities Far West Sport in art Horse
US painting before 1940 Man and woman Self portrait Self portrait II Children Groups Music and dance Cities Far West Sport in art Horse
1871 Pleasure and Boating
2015 SOLD for £ 10.2M including premium
The famous Déjeuner sur l'Herbe painted by Manet in 1862-1863 did not leave indifferent his younger friends. This bold painting opened the way to the theme of popular pleasures and dance gardens.
In 1869 Monet and Renoir assiduously attend La Grenouillère, a place for fun and boating founded in 1850 on an island of the Seine at Croissy, far from the austere bourgeois way of life. Also far from academic doctrines, the two young artists are experimenting with compositions and colors, with a sharp line that does not yet announce the Impressionism.
On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas 54 x 74 cm titled L'Embarcadère (the pier) and signed by Monet, lot 29 estimated £ 7.5 million, showing the quiet activities of groups at the edge of a river.
This picture is typical of the style of the young artists in La Grenouillère, but some details enable to locate it at Zaandam in 1871 when Claude is now the gentle husband of Camille. The young woman with a pink parasol, also figured in another view of Zaandam, is certainly Camille and some architectural details appear to be Dutch.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
In 1869 Monet and Renoir assiduously attend La Grenouillère, a place for fun and boating founded in 1850 on an island of the Seine at Croissy, far from the austere bourgeois way of life. Also far from academic doctrines, the two young artists are experimenting with compositions and colors, with a sharp line that does not yet announce the Impressionism.
On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas 54 x 74 cm titled L'Embarcadère (the pier) and signed by Monet, lot 29 estimated £ 7.5 million, showing the quiet activities of groups at the edge of a river.
This picture is typical of the style of the young artists in La Grenouillère, but some details enable to locate it at Zaandam in 1871 when Claude is now the gentle husband of Camille. The young woman with a pink parasol, also figured in another view of Zaandam, is certainly Camille and some architectural details appear to be Dutch.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
1872 Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne by Manet
2004 SOLD 26.3 M$ including premium by Sotheby's
"Edouard Manet 052" by Édouard Manet - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
1873 Train on Argenteuil Bridge by Monet
2008 SOLD 41 M$ including premium by Christie's
Shared on Wikimedia :
1873 The Legend of Edward Burne-Jones
2013 SOLD 14.8 M£ including premium
Two English students meet at Oxford in 1852. William Morris is a true revolutionary in the sense that he wants to change the society. He will be an enterprising and innovative designer. Edward Coley Burne Jones (later Burne-Jones) has not yet a knowledge in art and is thus devoid of preconceived ideas on themes and technique.
The two friends were more inspired by the post-Romantic poetry, including Robert Browning, than by figurative art but they early find a fertile source of inspiration by approaching the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of Rossetti. Burne-Jones was then to discover the Italian primitives.
In their small circle, the skill of Burne-Jones is soon recognized, which commits him to try the major arts. In 1869, the Hesperides, showing three young women in an earthly paradise, is the first masterpiece of his new ambition.
From that date, Burne-Jones designed new romantic-medieval themes, but from 1870 to 1873 he devoted himself to a single painting entitled Love among the ruins, 96 x 152 cm. Two young people live their romance alone among ruins. They are idealized figures of man and woman. The brightly colored clothes and faces are probably influenced by Giorgione.
Love among the ruins is disfigured in 1893 when in loan for an exhibition. A zealous connoisseur puts a protective coating without appreciating that it is a watercolor and gouache on paper and not an oil. The work now considered as destroyed is so emotionally important for the artist that he executes almost immediately a replica in oil.
In 1898, a friend informs of a chemical formula through which Burne-Jones is able to recover almost entirely the original quality of the picture. He repairs a more damaged area with much excitement as you can imagine. He had saved his art but he died five weeks later.
This artwork that has all the qualities to become legendary is estimated £ 3M, for sale by Christie's in London on July 11.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork is the perfect example of pre-Raphaelite ideas. The price could hardly be predicted. It was sold for £ 14.8 million including premium.
The two friends were more inspired by the post-Romantic poetry, including Robert Browning, than by figurative art but they early find a fertile source of inspiration by approaching the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of Rossetti. Burne-Jones was then to discover the Italian primitives.
In their small circle, the skill of Burne-Jones is soon recognized, which commits him to try the major arts. In 1869, the Hesperides, showing three young women in an earthly paradise, is the first masterpiece of his new ambition.
From that date, Burne-Jones designed new romantic-medieval themes, but from 1870 to 1873 he devoted himself to a single painting entitled Love among the ruins, 96 x 152 cm. Two young people live their romance alone among ruins. They are idealized figures of man and woman. The brightly colored clothes and faces are probably influenced by Giorgione.
Love among the ruins is disfigured in 1893 when in loan for an exhibition. A zealous connoisseur puts a protective coating without appreciating that it is a watercolor and gouache on paper and not an oil. The work now considered as destroyed is so emotionally important for the artist that he executes almost immediately a replica in oil.
In 1898, a friend informs of a chemical formula through which Burne-Jones is able to recover almost entirely the original quality of the picture. He repairs a more damaged area with much excitement as you can imagine. He had saved his art but he died five weeks later.
This artwork that has all the qualities to become legendary is estimated £ 3M, for sale by Christie's in London on July 11.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork is the perfect example of pre-Raphaelite ideas. The price could hardly be predicted. It was sold for £ 14.8 million including premium.
En cette Saint Valentin, les spécialistes de @ChristiesInc reviennent sur des objets évoquant le sentiment amoureux https://t.co/HoCflsOAn8 pic.twitter.com/DUnBAVapJn
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) February 14, 2017
1874 The Rustle of the Seine
2016 SOLD for $ 11.4M including premium
Young artists refuse the academicism of the official Salons. They create a cooperative and organize their first exhibition in the spring of 1874. No less than 29 artists participate, demonstrating the scale and momentum of this new movement. Impression Soleil levant painted two years earlier by Monet becomes the flagship of the new painting : they can show the mist without drawing the outlines.
Claude Monet is confident and enthusiastic. During the summer he paints tirelessly the Seine river at Argenteuil where he lives. The grass of the meadow and the reflection in the water are the sources of his new inspiration, the real birth of Impressionnisme.
Monet appreciates that his best ally is the spontaneity. The emotion is generated by the speed that liberates the instinct. He improves his technique by varying the brushstrokes by topic on the same canvas : horizontal mark for water and comma shaped wrist movement in the tree. The skilled hand of the artist generates a vibration that reflects the tremor and rustling of water and wind. Monet may now match Constable.
Le Petit-Gennevilliers is right in front of Argenteuil, on the other side of the river. Monet works outdoors: he set up his easel on a barge under the railway bridge. Boats for rent await the walkers at this point, increasing the charm of the scene. A painting by Manet shows Monet busy at work at that very place.
On May 12 in New York, Christie's sells a view of Le Petit-Gennevilliers painted by Monet in 1874, oil on canvas 55 x 73 cm, lot 16C estimated $ 12M. The weather is gray and the sun is screened, providing an atmosphere altogether soft and quivering which is a beautiful effect of the early impressionist experiences.
Since 1901 this painting did not leave the collection of the philanthropist HO Havemeyer and his wife Louisine who were in their time the best connoisseurs of impressionism in the United States.
Claude Monet is confident and enthusiastic. During the summer he paints tirelessly the Seine river at Argenteuil where he lives. The grass of the meadow and the reflection in the water are the sources of his new inspiration, the real birth of Impressionnisme.
Monet appreciates that his best ally is the spontaneity. The emotion is generated by the speed that liberates the instinct. He improves his technique by varying the brushstrokes by topic on the same canvas : horizontal mark for water and comma shaped wrist movement in the tree. The skilled hand of the artist generates a vibration that reflects the tremor and rustling of water and wind. Monet may now match Constable.
Le Petit-Gennevilliers is right in front of Argenteuil, on the other side of the river. Monet works outdoors: he set up his easel on a barge under the railway bridge. Boats for rent await the walkers at this point, increasing the charm of the scene. A painting by Manet shows Monet busy at work at that very place.
On May 12 in New York, Christie's sells a view of Le Petit-Gennevilliers painted by Monet in 1874, oil on canvas 55 x 73 cm, lot 16C estimated $ 12M. The weather is gray and the sun is screened, providing an atmosphere altogether soft and quivering which is a beautiful effect of the early impressionist experiences.
Since 1901 this painting did not leave the collection of the philanthropist HO Havemeyer and his wife Louisine who were in their time the best connoisseurs of impressionism in the United States.
Art du XXe siècle : des œuvres exceptionnelles chez Christie's à New York https://t.co/84x2PEVljX @PierrickMoritz pic.twitter.com/isCmumUtdp
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) April 27, 2016
1875 River Bank in Argenteuil
2014 SOLD 8.5 M£ including premium
Claude Monet lived six years in Argenteuil from December 1871. The small town on the Seine was near Paris, easily accessible by rail, and offered to young men the pleasure of sailing. His friends made frequent visits to him. They compared their creative experiences. Argenteuil then became a cradle of modern art.
The transition was not immediate. In the early years, Monet had retained the processing of light in landscapes by Courbet. His line was sharp and his drawing met the perspectives.
The first basic development by Monet was to privilege the pleasant atmosphere of the place instead of tourism effects for which photography was quite enough. With his friends, he tirelessly changed the view while expressing all shades of color and light.
In 1874, the first exhibition of their society of artists disturbs the critics and is not a success, but Monet goes bolder. This so effective action of his brush that removes the lines appears at that time. This is the very beginning of Impressionism, a wording that these young artists will not accept until 1877.
One of the coolest features in Monet painting is the fact that the removal of contours does not relieve him for showing the strict proportions. Without being completely straight, the banks of the Seine river and the borders of the road are leading the way up to the horizon with a vanishing point which structures the whole image.
This impressionist style in its classical period recreates the atmosphere of the place, with its sun, greenery and freshness. Monet is now the best successor to Constable.
An oil on canvas 60 x 80 cm painted in 1875 was sold for $ 7.6 million at Christie's on May 14, 1997. It is estimated £ 7M for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 23.
POST SALE COMMENT
This beautiful example of early Impressionism by Monet was sold for £ 8.5 million including premium.
I invite you to play the video where Sotheby's introduces the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. collection including this view of Argenteuil and a very bright view of Antibes by the same artist.
The transition was not immediate. In the early years, Monet had retained the processing of light in landscapes by Courbet. His line was sharp and his drawing met the perspectives.
The first basic development by Monet was to privilege the pleasant atmosphere of the place instead of tourism effects for which photography was quite enough. With his friends, he tirelessly changed the view while expressing all shades of color and light.
In 1874, the first exhibition of their society of artists disturbs the critics and is not a success, but Monet goes bolder. This so effective action of his brush that removes the lines appears at that time. This is the very beginning of Impressionism, a wording that these young artists will not accept until 1877.
One of the coolest features in Monet painting is the fact that the removal of contours does not relieve him for showing the strict proportions. Without being completely straight, the banks of the Seine river and the borders of the road are leading the way up to the horizon with a vanishing point which structures the whole image.
This impressionist style in its classical period recreates the atmosphere of the place, with its sun, greenery and freshness. Monet is now the best successor to Constable.
An oil on canvas 60 x 80 cm painted in 1875 was sold for $ 7.6 million at Christie's on May 14, 1997. It is estimated £ 7M for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 23.
POST SALE COMMENT
This beautiful example of early Impressionism by Monet was sold for £ 8.5 million including premium.
I invite you to play the video where Sotheby's introduces the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. collection including this view of Argenteuil and a very bright view of Antibes by the same artist.
1876 Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Renoir
1990 SOLD 78 M$ by Sotheby's
Shared by Wikimedia :
1876 Monet, Impressionist Artist working in Argenteuil
1988 SOLD for £ 14.3M by Sotheby's
2009 SOLD 11.2 M£ including premium
Claude Monet arrived at Argenteuil in 1871. A quarter of an hour from Paris by train, this town of 8,000 people was at the border between the modernity of the city and the peaceful life of the country.
First, he is is listening to progress: the train on Argenteuil bridge, that Christie's sold $ 41 million charge included on 6 May 2008, was made in 1873.
He then experimented with intimate outdoor scenes, symbolized by the oil on canvas entitled Dans la Prairie (In the meadows), 60 x 82 cm, that Christie's will sell on February 4 in London. Painted in 1876, it represents the artist's wife, Camille. She reads, surrounded by finely nuanced flowers, an umbrella behind her.
Despite the protests generated by the first two exhibitions of the Monet group in 1874 and 1876, his art had already champions, including Théodore Duret who bought our painting. In 1877, the tide is turning. The third exhibition, for which Duret lent his painting, is a success, and the group accepts the designation of Impressionists that had been given to them by some traditionalist art critics.
Talking price. Dans la Prairie has been sold twice by Sotheby's. In 1988, when the bubble began to swell, the artwork fetched 14.3 M£ (information provided in Christie's catalog). In 1999, under less favorable conditions, the hammer fell at 14 M$.
In 2009, the historic importance of this work suggests that it is resistant to the difficulties of the art market. Christie's hopes it in the region of £ 15 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Times are hard, but this historic Monet was sold respectably: £ 11.2 million including premium.
We have perhaps here a curious phenomenon. Until last year, lots with "estimate on request" were especially difficult to sell because of a high reserve price. This one was sold at a price significantly lower than the expected amount that Christie's said in its release.
The art of forecasting prices, which is part of the core business of auction houses (and not part of mine ...) is becoming increasingly difficult in this period of financial trouble.
First, he is is listening to progress: the train on Argenteuil bridge, that Christie's sold $ 41 million charge included on 6 May 2008, was made in 1873.
He then experimented with intimate outdoor scenes, symbolized by the oil on canvas entitled Dans la Prairie (In the meadows), 60 x 82 cm, that Christie's will sell on February 4 in London. Painted in 1876, it represents the artist's wife, Camille. She reads, surrounded by finely nuanced flowers, an umbrella behind her.
Despite the protests generated by the first two exhibitions of the Monet group in 1874 and 1876, his art had already champions, including Théodore Duret who bought our painting. In 1877, the tide is turning. The third exhibition, for which Duret lent his painting, is a success, and the group accepts the designation of Impressionists that had been given to them by some traditionalist art critics.
Talking price. Dans la Prairie has been sold twice by Sotheby's. In 1988, when the bubble began to swell, the artwork fetched 14.3 M£ (information provided in Christie's catalog). In 1999, under less favorable conditions, the hammer fell at 14 M$.
In 2009, the historic importance of this work suggests that it is resistant to the difficulties of the art market. Christie's hopes it in the region of £ 15 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Times are hard, but this historic Monet was sold respectably: £ 11.2 million including premium.
We have perhaps here a curious phenomenon. Until last year, lots with "estimate on request" were especially difficult to sell because of a high reserve price. This one was sold at a price significantly lower than the expected amount that Christie's said in its release.
The art of forecasting prices, which is part of the core business of auction houses (and not part of mine ...) is becoming increasingly difficult in this period of financial trouble.
1877 The Great Station of Modernism
2018 SOLD for £ 25M including premium
In 1876 Claude Monet lost his enthusiasm for Argenteuil which was gradually becoming part of the suburbs. He spends the last months of that year in a more rural atmosphere in Montgeron for the decoration of the Hoschedé residence.
Argenteuil decidedly does not inspire him any more. Just back from Montgeron he left for Paris with an authorization from the railway administration to work inside the Gare Saint-Lazare.
From January to March 1877 he made a sort of report composed of twelve artworks, four inside the station and eight outside, in varied weather conditions. A passer-by narrated that he saw Claude Monet perched on a stack of crates with his brush in his hand, feverishly waiting for the ambient light to match his expectations.
The choice of this theme is unexpected for this artist but is certainly not a self attempt to be disgusted from the smokes of the city. A better hypothesis is that Monet considered himself as a leader of the new outdoor painting and did not want to be overcome by the urban pictures of Caillebotte and Manet.
Indeed when the third exhibition of the Impressionnistes opened in April 1877 his Saint-Lazare series was already completed and it featured prominently in his selection. The rejection of modernist themes by Monet comes one year later when Camille fails to recover from a child birth. Life and work in the countryside become indispensable for Monet and his family. His Gares Saint-Lazare will remain forever an unparalleled set.
On May 8, 2018 Christie's sold for $ 33M including premium the only sunny image of the group, 61 x 81 cm.
On June 20 in London, Christie's sells another outdoor view, oil on canvas of the same size, lot 25 B estimated £ 22M. The foreground is intentionally empty to draw a better attention to the background where the thick steam from the trains mingle in a cloudy sky. The two locomotives and the tall arches of the glass roofs of the station provide the illusion of a picturesque instantaneous.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Argenteuil decidedly does not inspire him any more. Just back from Montgeron he left for Paris with an authorization from the railway administration to work inside the Gare Saint-Lazare.
From January to March 1877 he made a sort of report composed of twelve artworks, four inside the station and eight outside, in varied weather conditions. A passer-by narrated that he saw Claude Monet perched on a stack of crates with his brush in his hand, feverishly waiting for the ambient light to match his expectations.
The choice of this theme is unexpected for this artist but is certainly not a self attempt to be disgusted from the smokes of the city. A better hypothesis is that Monet considered himself as a leader of the new outdoor painting and did not want to be overcome by the urban pictures of Caillebotte and Manet.
Indeed when the third exhibition of the Impressionnistes opened in April 1877 his Saint-Lazare series was already completed and it featured prominently in his selection. The rejection of modernist themes by Monet comes one year later when Camille fails to recover from a child birth. Life and work in the countryside become indispensable for Monet and his family. His Gares Saint-Lazare will remain forever an unparalleled set.
On May 8, 2018 Christie's sold for $ 33M including premium the only sunny image of the group, 61 x 81 cm.
On June 20 in London, Christie's sells another outdoor view, oil on canvas of the same size, lot 25 B estimated £ 22M. The foreground is intentionally empty to draw a better attention to the background where the thick steam from the trains mingle in a cloudy sky. The two locomotives and the tall arches of the glass roofs of the station provide the illusion of a picturesque instantaneous.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1877 The Ultimate Train of Claude Monet
2018 SOLD for $ 33M including premium
Young people of all times are tempted by modern life. Monet is soon disillusioned. He had desired to maintain in Argenteuil his corner of paradise, a residence in the countryside for which the railway is the link with the big city and its progress. Urbanization reaches Argenteuil and Camille is seriously ill. He feels the need to take a decision.
In January 1877 Monet spends a few days in Paris for a series on the Gare Saint-Lazare, one of the best symbols of modernism. He paints twelve canvases showing the interior with the platforms or the outside with trains coming or leaving. The result of this creativity is significant. The nauseating smoke of trains mingles with a heavily loaded sky and makes you want to run away.
Only one of the twelve paintings, 61 x 81 cm, escapes this pessimism thanks to a bright sunshine. The view is taken towards the double tunnel of the Batignolles. On the left the smoke is a fairly sharp cone. On the right the train has not yet come out and its smoke is diffused in all directions in the square, creating a veil in the atmosphere of clear weather.
In the best tradition of early Impressionnisme, this painting offers an ambience through which we can almost perceive heat and smell. Rockefeller did not make a mistake when he bought it. He liked this artwork very much while noting that the asking price had seemed high. It is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 8, lot 26.
This series marks a decisive turning point in Claude Monet's career. For the very last time he had tried to illustrate the progress. For nearly half a century he will stubbornly devote to landscapes, to monuments and to his garden.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In January 1877 Monet spends a few days in Paris for a series on the Gare Saint-Lazare, one of the best symbols of modernism. He paints twelve canvases showing the interior with the platforms or the outside with trains coming or leaving. The result of this creativity is significant. The nauseating smoke of trains mingles with a heavily loaded sky and makes you want to run away.
Only one of the twelve paintings, 61 x 81 cm, escapes this pessimism thanks to a bright sunshine. The view is taken towards the double tunnel of the Batignolles. On the left the smoke is a fairly sharp cone. On the right the train has not yet come out and its smoke is diffused in all directions in the square, creating a veil in the atmosphere of clear weather.
In the best tradition of early Impressionnisme, this painting offers an ambience through which we can almost perceive heat and smell. Rockefeller did not make a mistake when he bought it. He liked this artwork very much while noting that the asking price had seemed high. It is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 8, lot 26.
This series marks a decisive turning point in Claude Monet's career. For the very last time he had tried to illustrate the progress. For nearly half a century he will stubbornly devote to landscapes, to monuments and to his garden.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1877 The Enchantment of Motion
2015 SOLD for $ 17M including premium
The artistic language is experiencing a profound transformation in the 1870s. Painting is already superseded by photography for the resemblance. Edgar Degas is a great innovator who explores staging, light, shine and motion.
Degas is passionate about dance. He spends much time watching the ballerinas on stage and backstage. He does not admire their body but their flexibility, which is the ease of their limbs to reach extreme angles either in action or at rest.
Inspired by Ingres, Degas was an very good draftsman. He rediscovered pastel as a technique allowing the more vivid colors without impairing the quality of the drawing. Like the pre-impressionists, Degas executed his works in his studio from previous sketches. His spontaneity is in fact the result of a long meticulous work, like Constable's.
The dancer on pointe, pastel and gouache made in 1877, shows a ballerina leaning forward, one leg above the horizontal in a movement for which no effort is apparent. Her imbalanced attitude and the empty space in front of her bring to this graphic work an illusion of motion that is unprecedented in the history of art. The delicacy of the colors anticipates Lautrec.
The young dancer takes the same position in the same colors but now leading a group of four in Danseuses en blanc, pastel and gouache on paper 53 x 65 cm for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 32T estimated $ 18M. The four girls play a simultaneous dance step in a bold composition in which no body is seen in its entirety.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's, also introducing the pastel of a nude offered in the same sale (also discussed in my column).
Degas is passionate about dance. He spends much time watching the ballerinas on stage and backstage. He does not admire their body but their flexibility, which is the ease of their limbs to reach extreme angles either in action or at rest.
Inspired by Ingres, Degas was an very good draftsman. He rediscovered pastel as a technique allowing the more vivid colors without impairing the quality of the drawing. Like the pre-impressionists, Degas executed his works in his studio from previous sketches. His spontaneity is in fact the result of a long meticulous work, like Constable's.
The dancer on pointe, pastel and gouache made in 1877, shows a ballerina leaning forward, one leg above the horizontal in a movement for which no effort is apparent. Her imbalanced attitude and the empty space in front of her bring to this graphic work an illusion of motion that is unprecedented in the history of art. The delicacy of the colors anticipates Lautrec.
The young dancer takes the same position in the same colors but now leading a group of four in Danseuses en blanc, pastel and gouache on paper 53 x 65 cm for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 4, lot 32T estimated $ 18M. The four girls play a simultaneous dance step in a bold composition in which no body is seen in its entirety.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's, also introducing the pastel of a nude offered in the same sale (also discussed in my column).
1878 Green River of Wyoming by Thomas Moran
2008 SOLD 17.7 M$ including premium by Christie's
Shared on Wikimedia :
1878 An Impressionist Woman in the Garden
2013 SOLD 9.7 M£ including premium
On February 6 in London, Christie's sells a small oil on canvas, 62 x 51 cm, made by Renoir in 1878. The woman is quietly sitting alone in the garden. She holds an elegant ombrelle (parasol) that protects her from the sun.
The garden of Renoir vibrates of many colors to such an extent that we do not even notice that the flowers were not drawn. The impression is due to the texture, so anticipating also the art of Van Gogh and Klimt. Monet had opened the way with his grassy slopes of Argenteuil.
Renoir, aged 37, is at the best of his creativity. Two years before, he had painted the Bal du Moulin de la Galette whose sharp drawing looks closer to Manet, and which was sold $ 78M by Sotheby's on May 17, 1990.
The style of the Femme à l'ombrelle is rather in the following of another of his masterpieces of 1876, the Swing (in the Musée d'Orsay), where the sunspots filtered through the undergrowth are added to the mystery of the garden.
L'Ombrelle is estimated £ 4M.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Renoir painting of a very good period was sold £ 9.7 million including premium.
In a comparable Impressionist style, an oil on canvas painted in 1881 by Berthe Morisot was sold in the same sale £ 7M including premium, an unprecedented price for this artist.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
The garden of Renoir vibrates of many colors to such an extent that we do not even notice that the flowers were not drawn. The impression is due to the texture, so anticipating also the art of Van Gogh and Klimt. Monet had opened the way with his grassy slopes of Argenteuil.
Renoir, aged 37, is at the best of his creativity. Two years before, he had painted the Bal du Moulin de la Galette whose sharp drawing looks closer to Manet, and which was sold $ 78M by Sotheby's on May 17, 1990.
The style of the Femme à l'ombrelle is rather in the following of another of his masterpieces of 1876, the Swing (in the Musée d'Orsay), where the sunspots filtered through the undergrowth are added to the mystery of the garden.
L'Ombrelle is estimated £ 4M.
POST SALE COMMENT
This Renoir painting of a very good period was sold £ 9.7 million including premium.
In a comparable Impressionist style, an oil on canvas painted in 1881 by Berthe Morisot was sold in the same sale £ 7M including premium, an unprecedented price for this artist.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
1878-1879 Monsieur Manet, Artist
2010 SOLD 22.4 M£ including premium
In 1878 or 1879, Edouard Manet painted two self-portraits, which were the only ones of his career. Perhaps he wanted to change the image that his contemporaries had of him, fifteen years after such powerful and scandalous progresses of modern art as were le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia.
Manet is not a rapin. This colloquial term used in Paris at that time applied to partygoer artists who courted easy milliners who were known as grisettes. Instead, his elegant jacket and hat, and his full and forked beard provided the image of a grand bourgeois.
The oil on canvas, 85 x 71 cm, for sale on June 22 by Sotheby's in London, reinforces the quest for respectability by including the professional attributes of the artist: his brushes and palette. There is however an obstacle to the social success of Manet : he stares into space, sadly. Aged 47, he is already sick.
Manet is often classified among the Impressionists, whom he was one of the first to support. He was rather a great experimenter of the artistic language, and each of his paintings is a bit unique. This one is among the most prestigious. It is estimated £ 20 million, and is the subject of a page with great detail in the Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting so unusual in Manet's art was sold 22.4 million pounds including premium, meeting its estimate.
The file below is shared by Wikimedia :
Manet is not a rapin. This colloquial term used in Paris at that time applied to partygoer artists who courted easy milliners who were known as grisettes. Instead, his elegant jacket and hat, and his full and forked beard provided the image of a grand bourgeois.
The oil on canvas, 85 x 71 cm, for sale on June 22 by Sotheby's in London, reinforces the quest for respectability by including the professional attributes of the artist: his brushes and palette. There is however an obstacle to the social success of Manet : he stares into space, sadly. Aged 47, he is already sick.
Manet is often classified among the Impressionists, whom he was one of the first to support. He was rather a great experimenter of the artistic language, and each of his paintings is a bit unique. This one is among the most prestigious. It is estimated £ 20 million, and is the subject of a page with great detail in the Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting so unusual in Manet's art was sold 22.4 million pounds including premium, meeting its estimate.
The file below is shared by Wikimedia :
1879 Danseuse au Repos, pastel by Degas
2008 SOLD 37 M$ including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
