Albert Edelfelt

Reitlinger, Paris
M. Leroux (acquired from the above, May 1888)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, June 28, 1999, lot 29, illustrated
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Salon, 1881, no. 840

Ny Illusterad Tidning, November 19, 1881, p. 459, illustrated
Hufvudstadsbladet, June 15 and 20, 1881
Morgonbladet, June 16, 1881
Albert Edelfelt, Resor och Intryck (letters), Helsinki, 1921, pp. 22, 25, 40, 41, and 101
Bertel Hintze, Albert Edelfelt, Helsinki, 1942, vol. III, no. 159, p. 41

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. This painting has not been lined. The artist himself applied additions to the canvas to the right side and to the top edge. Both these additions are about 3 inches in width and the joins are admittedly quite visible at present. There is a little restoration that has been applied here and there to these clumsy joins, but the bulk of the restoration addresses two structural repairs which have been patched on the reverse. The first is about an 8-inch horizontal break in the canvas through the legs of the chair on the left side, and the second is a smaller loss in the floor next to the wheels of the easel on the right side. The few cracks in the side of the frame in the upper right have been retouched, and it seems that there is possibly a broad re-glazing which as occurred to the work on paper which the sitter is actually holding. Our opinion is that the joins in the canvas combined with the two structural damages and some raised cracking here and there encourages me at least to think that this is now the time to carefully line the picture. There are enough reasons to encourage one to do this. The paint layer is stable but quite uneven as a result of these above-mentioned issues. There is one other small structural repair in the dress about 2 inches from the bottom edge in the center. Overall though, the condition is very fresh and lively and the correct restoration will produce very impressive results.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted between January and March 1881.

Together with Helene Sofia Schjerfbeck, Albert Edelfelt is today one of the most well-known Finnish artists. Edelfelt was born into a Swedish-speaking aristocratic family and educated at the Imperial University in Helsinki.  He was early on frustrated by the unprogressive atmosphere of the university and left in 1873 to enroll in the Antwerp Academy of Art.  He studied history painting there for six months before moving to Paris in 1874. Paris was the premiere destination for artists all over the world due to its position as the most culturally and artistically progressive city at the end of the nineteenth century. Edelfelt was immediately drawn to the Parisian lifestyle and encouraged by the endless opportunities personally and professionally. Not only did the extensive network of museums, galleries and dealers provide constant stimulation for the aspiring artist, but the wealthy, sophisticated Parisians proved a ready clientele. Concurrent with his move from the conservative city of Antwerp to the cosmopolitan French capital, was Edelfelt's turn away from history painting toward painting scenes of contemporary life. Edelfelt went on to become the leading proponent of Finnish Realism and his native country's most important cultural export of the 19^th century.

Chez l'artiste is a paean to the belle époque culture Edelfelt so deeply admired.  By the late 19^th century, France was enjoying the spoils of the 1860s economic boom and money flowed freely into the newly emerging middle class. As members of the bourgeoisie rose in rank in society, they actively filled their homes with social and cultural signifiers to communicate their cosmopolitan-mindedness. Artists, the arbiters of taste and fashion, also participated in this collective consumption of "things," and in Chez l'artiste Edelfelt effectively captures the current vogue of japonisme and the prevailing urge toward projecting sophistication and intellectual curiosity. A beautiful and fashionable young lady, Edelfelt's mistress, Virginie, sorts bemusedly through an artist's collection of prints, a Japanese fan resting casually on her lap. Edelfelt's latest chef-d'oeuvre sits half-concealed on his easel at the right; yet our eye is drawn to Virginie's magnificent dress whose frothy trimmings are the central focus of the composition.  Tellingly, this costume was lent by Edelfelt's friend, Princess Troubetskoy, specifically for the Chez l'artiste sitting. 

Edelfelt is known to have painted a half-sized replica of Chez l'artiste in 1881, commissioned by Bulla on behalf of a New York dealer, probably Knoedler (see Hintze 1942, no. 160).  The same year, his original was engraved by Charles Baude and photographed by Michelez.