Gustave Loiseau

Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired directly from the artist on April 1900)
Monsieur & Madame d'Alayer, Paris (by descent from the above in 1949)
Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired by 1979)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Jean Melas-Kyriazi, Gustave Loiseau, l'Historiographe de la Seine, Athens, 1979, illustrated p. 42

The canvas is not lined and examination under UV light reveals no signs of retouching. There are some fine lines of stable craquelure throughout, not visually distracting. There are two lines of pigment loss visible towards the centre of the right edge, and a further small area of pigment loss to the centre of the left edge. This work is in overall very good condition.
"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."

Gustave Loiseau’s Brume sur l’Eure, Saint-Cyr is a wonderful evocation of the French countryside. In his landscapes, Loiseau often experimented with a high horizon line and created a number of paintings dominated by wild vegetation. The present work’s rich surface, composed using spontaneous brushwork and areas of thickly applied paint, exemplifies the artist's instinctive use of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist techniques which he derived from his close relationship with Claude Monet.

Indeed, underlying the beauty of this painting is a subject with special significance for citizens of France. During the French Revolution the poplar had been selected as the tree of liberty. Paul Tucker tells us that “the reasons for this choice remain obscure, but it was most likely due to the derivation of the name from the Latin populous, which means both ‘people’ and ‘popular.’ Whatever the rationale, by 1793, 60,000 poplars had been planted in France and hundreds of broadsides had been issued with the tree as a symbol of the new republic" (Paul Tucker, Monet in the 90s, The Series Paintings, Boston, 1989, p. 138). The poplar continued as an important political symbol during the nineteenth century, and in 1889, at the time of the hundred-year anniversary of the Revolution, there were again ceremonial plantings of poplars throughout the country.