- 226
Gustave Courbet French, 1819-1877
bidding is closed
Description
- Gustave Courbet
- La Vague
- bears the signature and date Gustave Courbet. 1866 l.r.
oil on canvas
- 52 by 79.5cm., 20½ by 31¼in.
Provenance
Probably, Hector Hanoteau (acquired from the artist; according to Fernier, the present work may well have been acquired by Hanoteau, who was a friend of Courbet. In this case, after Hanoteau's death it would have passsed to his son Marcel or his nephew Jean; it subsequently entered the collection of Mme de Riencourt (née Marie-Hélène Queyroi)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 1 July 1998, lot 108A
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 1 July 1998, lot 108A
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Condition
Original canvas. Apart from two small spots of retouching (one in the sky towards the centre of the right edge and one in the extreme lower right corner) visible under ultraviolet light; some faint craquelure and two small pinhead-sized spots of paint loss at the left edge of the sky, this work is in good condition with the artist's original impasto intact. Held in a simple gilt wood frame.
"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."
"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
Despite the date inscribed on this work, Jean-Jacques Fernier believes that Courbet probably painted this oil slightly later, either circa 1869 or circa 1872.
The sea had always held an enormous fascination for Courbet, and he became a master at expressing its vastness and power on canvas. What the sea represented for the painter - opportunity and the excitement of the unknown - is evident in a letter Courbet sent to his family as a young man when travelling though northern France. He wrote in 1841, apparently on his first visit to the coast: 'I am delighted with this trip, which has quite developed my ideas about different things I need for my art. We finally saw the sea, the horizonless sea - how odd for a mountain dweller. We saw the beautiful boats that sail on it. It is too inviting, one feels carried away, one would leave to see the whole world.' (Petra ten-Doesschate Chu ed., Letters of Gustave Courbet, Chicago, 1992, p. 38).
In the present work, it is the frenzy and strength of the waves that Courbet has captured with such dramatic intensity and feeling, a sensitivity to his subject that gained him considerable acclaim. In a letter to his family from Paris dated 24 June 1870 Courbet commented on the two seascapes that he exhibited at the Paris Salon that year: 'Nobody has ever had a success like the one I had with my seascapes. My year is splendid in every way...' (Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, ibid., p. 382).
The sea had always held an enormous fascination for Courbet, and he became a master at expressing its vastness and power on canvas. What the sea represented for the painter - opportunity and the excitement of the unknown - is evident in a letter Courbet sent to his family as a young man when travelling though northern France. He wrote in 1841, apparently on his first visit to the coast: 'I am delighted with this trip, which has quite developed my ideas about different things I need for my art. We finally saw the sea, the horizonless sea - how odd for a mountain dweller. We saw the beautiful boats that sail on it. It is too inviting, one feels carried away, one would leave to see the whole world.' (Petra ten-Doesschate Chu ed., Letters of Gustave Courbet, Chicago, 1992, p. 38).
In the present work, it is the frenzy and strength of the waves that Courbet has captured with such dramatic intensity and feeling, a sensitivity to his subject that gained him considerable acclaim. In a letter to his family from Paris dated 24 June 1870 Courbet commented on the two seascapes that he exhibited at the Paris Salon that year: 'Nobody has ever had a success like the one I had with my seascapes. My year is splendid in every way...' (Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, ibid., p. 382).