L13007

/

Lot 330
  • 330

Henri Le Sidaner

Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Henri Le Sidaner
  • LES BARQUES À LA ROCHELLE
  • signed Le Sidaner (lower right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 65.4 by 81.5cm., 25 3/4 by 32 3/4 in.

Provenance

Galerie Georges Petit, Paris
Private Collection, France
Sale: Salle Rossini, Paris, 25th June 2002, lot 51
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 6th November 2002, lot 167
Private Collection, USA (purchased at the above sale)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 9th February 2005, lot 444
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Literature

Camille Mauclair, Le Sidaner, Paris, 1928, illustrated p. 144
Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, L'Œuvre peint et gravé, Milan, 1989, no. 503, illustrated p. 194

Condition

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals a few small spots of very minor retouching in places, mainly to the lower left quadrant. There is some stable paint shrinkage in places (mainly to the dark green pigments in the lower half) and some fine lines of craquelure to some of the pale green pigment to the left-hand boat. Otherwise, this work is in overall very good condition. Colours: fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, though the yellow is slightly more muted in the original and the water is slightly more green less blue.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

In the present work, Henri Le Sidaner has captured the port of La Rochelle at the moment just before the light gives out following the setting of the sun below the horizon, prompting the first flickering of illumination inside the houses opposite. The fleeting play of colour and light on the water and boats is rendered here in compelling detail, exuding a dream-like sense of calm that might be broken at any moment. His creative process is revealed through a charming anecdote from the artist’s son, Rémy: ‘My father would give me his usual sign and we would stop still whilst he scrutinised the horizon, committing what he saw to memory […] he often made a colour sketch of the site, but this had nothing to do with the effect, which would later be committed to canvas in his studio from memory alone; they were too fleeting and too changeable to be painted on the spot.’ (R. Le Sidaner, ‘Le Peintre Henri Le Sidaner tel que j’ai connu’, in Henri le Sidaner (exhibition catalogue), Musée Marmotton, Paris, 1989,
p. 11).

The present work is striking for its glistening and jewel-like palette but above all for being exemplary of the artist’s much-fêted ability to capture the intangible and mystical atmosphere of a particular moment in time. He was not a painter of people  but a painter of the nuances of place and of time: ‘He considered that the silent harmony of things is enough to evoke the presence of those who live among them. Indeed such presences are felt throughout his works. Deserted they may be, but never empty.’ (Camille Mauclair, Henri Le Sidaner, Paris, 1928, p. 12)