JOHN PETER RUSSELL

Mme Jeanne Jouve (the artist's daughter)
M. Charles Merlin
Dr Joseph Brown, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne
Private collection, Perth

John Peter Russell, Wildenstein Art Gallery, London, July - August 1965, cat. 23, as 'ROCHER AU CHIEN, CLOS MARION, BELLE-ILLE', lent by M.Charles Merlin (label on the reverse)

Ann Galbally, The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1977, p. 104, cat. 110, pl. xxvii

The work has recently been cleaned by David Stein. The illustration in the catalogue was taken prior to cleaning and as a result lacks the brightness and vitality of the work. Fine cracks across the water. Slight lifting and cracking lower right near frame rebate. Under UV there is flaring lower left, a similar but smaller area is centre right and there are two smaller areas lower right close to frame rebate. There is a 7cm vertical line that is also flaring, possibly the hand of the artist. This painting is in good and sounds condition. David Stein would be happy to discuss the cleaning and 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."

The art of John Peter Russell vibrates with primary colours, especially blues and yellows, Russell grinding his pigments for the purity he desired with brilliant effect. His paintings sparkle through the deft handling of paint, moments of summer sunlight or foam tossed stormy seas redolent with the mood and atmosphere of the season. He delighted in painting the sea, describing the scene at Belle-Ile in a letter to Tom Roberts as, 'The finest coast I've ever seen.' ¹ A powerful swimmer and experienced yachtsman, Russell's love of the sea in its various moods finds its greatest expression in the wind and crashing waves of this painting and related works before the same motif. Nina Murdoch in describing the moment, could be writing of this painting:
'At the peak of the rocky isle, ... with the winds from the Atlantic roaring about his ears, Russell worked happily upon canvases like ships in full sail, squeezing his colours straight from the tube and laying them on without any addition of white. The effect upon his seascapes of pure ultramarine was, of course, brilliant, and, in those days, breathtaking.' ²

Russell had settled on the island of Belle-Ile, off the Brittany coast, in 1888, many artists enjoying the hospitality that he and his wife offered at their 'Chateau Anglais'. Russell's friendship with Vincent van Gogh, commemorated in Russell's portrait of the great Post-Impressionist in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh in Amsterdam, is well known. Claude Monet also visited Belle-Ile and paid Russell the rare compliment of allowing Russell to join him in painting the rocky coastline. The influence was salutary with form flowing into colour with a breadth of handling that distinguishes the excitement and freedom of French Impressionist painting. In works like this one it is easy to understand why Russell rightly ranks as Australia's finest Impressionist painter.

From a purely formal point of view, Rocher au Chien, Clos Marion, Belle-Ile is a magnificent study of colour, light and movement. This is enriched by the subject, Russell himself referring to it in the label he inscribed on the reverse of the painting, as 'temps méchant', weather which can be variously translated as malicious, menacing, and nasty. 'Bad' would be too simple a description of these grandly tempestuous moments of nature which so enthralled him.

The high quality of this painting is attested by its provenance, once in the collection of Russell's daughter Mme Jeanne Jouve, who left many of his paintings and a Rodin bust of Madame Marianna Russell to the Louvre, now housed in the Musée Rodin, Paris. It was also seen in the Wildenstein 1965 Russell memorial exhibition and given a full page colour illustration in Ann Galbally's pioneering monograph on the artist.

1. Quoted in Salter, E., The Lost Impressionist: A Biography of John Peter Russell, Angus and Robertson, London, 1976, p. 100 
2. ibid, p. 121