Henri Lebasque

The present work shows the artist’s daughters Marthe and Nono in Saint-Jean-de-Monts in 1917. Nono (christened Hélène) was 17 years old and Marthe 25 when their father captured them by the sea, one sitting in a deckchair reading a book and the other holding a fashionable parasol.

As a loving father, Lebasque depicts his two daughters at leisure, enjoying themselves in the sun. The painting shows a very personal and intimate moment of their family life. As Lisa A. Banner has written: ‘Intimism, a term which best describes Lebasque’s painting, refers to the close domestic subject matter in such a manner as to convey the personal nature of his response to the thing painted, and the universal familiarity of home and family. There is a sense of calm infused in Lebasque’s paintings which celebrates the fullness and richness of life. Lebasque portrays his family in particular, but in such a way that he appeals to a larger sense of family gathering and devotion’ (L.A. Banner, Lebasque 1865-1937, San Francisco, 1986, p. 12).

Marthe et Nono is a beautiful example of Henri Lebasque’s œuvre. The use of fresh and striking colours, the spontaneity of the moment - just as Marthe Lebasque would recall later: ' 'Come here for a little look', the artist would say, and the daughters would be caught for a short while as his swift brush conveyed their forms to the canvas' (quoted in ibid, p. 38).