Giuseppe de Nittis

Thomas Agnew & Sons, Manchester
Purchased from the above by the father of the present owner circa 1950; thence by descent

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and is generally providing a stable and secure structural support although the stretcher wedges should be tightened to ensure a more even surface. There is one small indentation in the lower right where debris has settled between the lower horizontal stretcher bar and the canvas and this has caused one very small paint loss. Paint surface The paint surface should respond extremely well to cleaning. No retouchings are visible under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in excellent condition and would respond very well to minor structural intervention as well as cleaning and revarnishing.
"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 this sweeping panorama epitomising the belle époque, three elegantly attired women are seen strolling on the fashionable Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, today Avenue Foch. The view is to the east, back towards the Place de l'étoile and the Arc de Triomphe in the background. De Nittis, along with Manet and his circle, was one of the key painters of modern life in Paris in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Not only did he portray the new leisured lifestyle and latest fashions of the time; the rooftop skyline of the newly-built Haussmannian boulevard is punctuated by a factory chimney, the symbol par excellence of a fast industrialising nation and source of the new-found bourgeois wealth.

From Naples, where he studied at the Accademia, to Florence where he exhibited with the Macchiaioli in 1867, de Nittis arrived in Paris to study under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He remained in France for the rest of his career, first exhibiting at the Salon of 1869, and continuing to do so throughout the 1870s and 1880s. He was closely associated with the Impressionists, becoming a close friend of Edgar Degas, who invited him to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, the year of the present work. While de Nittis was no doubt influenced by the free plein air techniques of the Impressionists, he always remained faithful to the tenets of academic painting, his works displaying a tightly controlled line and a clear handling of space.