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 Origins of sports Horse
US painting before 1940 Man and woman Self portrait Self portrait II Children Groups Music and dance Cities Far West Sport in art Origins of sports 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
Link to catalogue.
"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
1874-1877 The Spotted Forest
2019 SOLD for £ 12.7M including premium
In the early 1860s Monet, Bazille, Sisley and Renoir were students at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Gleyre's studio. To escape academism they take their easels for painting outdoors in the forest of Fontainebleau.
Far away from the realism of the landscape painters of Barbizon, they explore new expressions, and especially new uses of colors. The shadow may be other than black, the snow may be other than white. Working on the texture brings a luminous effect.
After the Franco-Prussian war in which they loose Bazille, the young men resume their experiences. The drawing in the style of Manet remains preponderant for the figurative while the details of the greenery are lost in a brilliantly colored fragmentation.
The Salon is increasingly reluctant to this trend that escapes the official good taste. In December 1873 the three friends joined by Pissarro, Degas and Prins create a cooperative society to find a clientele. For their first exhibition in the following year, they rent for one month the workshop of Nadar. With Berthe Morisot, Cézanne, Guillaumin and Rouart among others, they will be forced to accept the pejorative sobriquet of Impressionnistes.
On February 27 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted by Renoir, lot 8 estimated £ 7.5M.
This sous-bois is composed of a multicolored pattern spotted with shadows and lights and dotted with some realistic details. The perspective effect is assured by the path that goes straight to infinity, punctuated in mid distance by a tiny character who symbolises the human place within the immensity of nature.
In the typical style of the first three Impressionist exhibitions, this undated artwork was certainly painted between 1874 and 1877. It was located by Dauberville in the forest of Fontainebleau.
Far away from the realism of the landscape painters of Barbizon, they explore new expressions, and especially new uses of colors. The shadow may be other than black, the snow may be other than white. Working on the texture brings a luminous effect.
After the Franco-Prussian war in which they loose Bazille, the young men resume their experiences. The drawing in the style of Manet remains preponderant for the figurative while the details of the greenery are lost in a brilliantly colored fragmentation.
The Salon is increasingly reluctant to this trend that escapes the official good taste. In December 1873 the three friends joined by Pissarro, Degas and Prins create a cooperative society to find a clientele. For their first exhibition in the following year, they rent for one month the workshop of Nadar. With Berthe Morisot, Cézanne, Guillaumin and Rouart among others, they will be forced to accept the pejorative sobriquet of Impressionnistes.
On February 27 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm painted by Renoir, lot 8 estimated £ 7.5M.
This sous-bois is composed of a multicolored pattern spotted with shadows and lights and dotted with some realistic details. The perspective effect is assured by the path that goes straight to infinity, punctuated in mid distance by a tiny character who symbolises the human place within the immensity of nature.
In the typical style of the first three Impressionist exhibitions, this undated artwork was certainly painted between 1874 and 1877. It was located by Dauberville in the forest of Fontainebleau.
This striking #PierreAugusteRenoir piece finishes above estimate for a £12,691,250 final @ChristiesInc pic.twitter.com/fn2W3yKSwO
— Art Observed (@ArtObserved) February 27, 2019
1876 Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Renoir
1990 SOLD for $ 78 M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
In 1863 Charles Gleyre admonishes Monet because he does not follow the model of the antique. Bringing with him three friends, Sisley, Renoir and Bazille, Monet slams the door and manages to paint outdoors.
Their temperaments are different. They are young and tempted by the good life of dancing balls. While Monet is overtaken by his wife, Renoir expresses the carefree joie de vivre of the groups to which he applies the impressionist style. Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette in 1876 and Le Déjeuner des Canotiers, exhibited in 1882, are among the most important masterpieces of painting.
Renoir painted two identical versions of the Moulin de la Galette. The largest, 131 x 175 cm, became the property of the French State through the Caillebotte bequest and is currently at the Musée d'Orsay.
The other version is an oil on canvas 78 x 114 cm damaged by folding. Coming from the Whitney collection, it was sold for $ 78M including premium by Sotheby's on May 17, 1990. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The buyer was a Japanese collector named Ryoei Saito, who had acquired the Portrait of Dr Gachet by Van Gogh two days earlier at Christies for $ 82M including premium. Saito creates some terror in the art world by announcing that at his death he will be cremated with the two paintings to avoid that enormous inheritance rights are required to his heirs.
Saito died in 1996. His threat was not carried out because his wealth had turned down and the artworks were sequestered by his creditors, but the two paintings were never seen again. The Van Gogh was reportedly located in 2007 in the collection of an Austrian financier who has since gone bankrupt.
Their temperaments are different. They are young and tempted by the good life of dancing balls. While Monet is overtaken by his wife, Renoir expresses the carefree joie de vivre of the groups to which he applies the impressionist style. Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette in 1876 and Le Déjeuner des Canotiers, exhibited in 1882, are among the most important masterpieces of painting.
Renoir painted two identical versions of the Moulin de la Galette. The largest, 131 x 175 cm, became the property of the French State through the Caillebotte bequest and is currently at the Musée d'Orsay.
The other version is an oil on canvas 78 x 114 cm damaged by folding. Coming from the Whitney collection, it was sold for $ 78M including premium by Sotheby's on May 17, 1990. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The buyer was a Japanese collector named Ryoei Saito, who had acquired the Portrait of Dr Gachet by Van Gogh two days earlier at Christies for $ 82M including premium. Saito creates some terror in the art world by announcing that at his death he will be cremated with the two paintings to avoid that enormous inheritance rights are required to his heirs.
Saito died in 1996. His threat was not carried out because his wealth had turned down and the artworks were sequestered by his creditors, but the two paintings were never seen again. The Van Gogh was reportedly located in 2007 in the collection of an Austrian financier who has since gone bankrupt.
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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 Balconies in Paris
2019 SOLD for $ 14M including premium
Paris is completely transformed during the Second Empire. For security reasons, Napoléon III entrusted to Haussmann the gigantic task of ridding the city from its dense pattern of unhealthy streets. Haussmann cuts into the urban fabric to create wide and straight avenues, lined with tall buildings on a unique model with long balconies.
Born in Paris in 1848, Gustave Caillebotte knew and appreciated such a breakthrough. In 1875 the young artist became an Impressionniste after his resentment of the Salon's rejection of a too social painting. He has the imagination for finding new themes.
Another wonder of the time is the railroad. In 1876 Caillebotte paints a view of the pont de l'Europe, a very long railway viaduct that connects to the Gare Saint-Lazare. Monet is well acquainted with this station, the terminus of the line that leads him to Argenteuil. Is he suddenly inspired by modernism or is he afraid of being overcome by a competitor? He devotes the winter of 1877 to his series of paintings of the same station.
The capital is also experiencing cultural transformations. Inaugurated in 1875, the immense Opéra de Paris becomes the symbol of the wealthy bourgeoisie to which the Caillebotte family belongs.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells La Rue Halévy vue du sixième étage, oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted by Caillebotte in 1878, lot 17 estimated $ 6M. The image below, shared by Wikimedia, was taken from an art book.
As wide as a boulevard, the rue Halévy leads from the boulevard Haussmann to the Opéra, which is visible beyond the Haussmannian buildings. This aerial cityscape is bold for its time. The street is pleasantly animated with sparse pedestrians and carriages.
Caillebotte definitely likes this district. After the death of their mother in that same year, Gustave and his brother Martial move to the 3rd floor at 31 boulevard Haussmann, less than 200 meters from the position of the previous sight. Their balcony overlooking the boulevard is the theme of several paintings in 1880 and 1881.
Born in Paris in 1848, Gustave Caillebotte knew and appreciated such a breakthrough. In 1875 the young artist became an Impressionniste after his resentment of the Salon's rejection of a too social painting. He has the imagination for finding new themes.
Another wonder of the time is the railroad. In 1876 Caillebotte paints a view of the pont de l'Europe, a very long railway viaduct that connects to the Gare Saint-Lazare. Monet is well acquainted with this station, the terminus of the line that leads him to Argenteuil. Is he suddenly inspired by modernism or is he afraid of being overcome by a competitor? He devotes the winter of 1877 to his series of paintings of the same station.
The capital is also experiencing cultural transformations. Inaugurated in 1875, the immense Opéra de Paris becomes the symbol of the wealthy bourgeoisie to which the Caillebotte family belongs.
On May 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells La Rue Halévy vue du sixième étage, oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted by Caillebotte in 1878, lot 17 estimated $ 6M. The image below, shared by Wikimedia, was taken from an art book.
As wide as a boulevard, the rue Halévy leads from the boulevard Haussmann to the Opéra, which is visible beyond the Haussmannian buildings. This aerial cityscape is bold for its time. The street is pleasantly animated with sparse pedestrians and carriages.
Caillebotte definitely likes this district. After the death of their mother in that same year, Gustave and his brother Martial move to the 3rd floor at 31 boulevard Haussmann, less than 200 meters from the position of the previous sight. Their balcony overlooking the boulevard is the theme of several paintings in 1880 and 1881.
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
narrated in 2020
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 3, 2008, lot 14.
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 3, 2008, lot 14.
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
