Henri Martin

Ansas de Pradines, Toulouse
William Findlay Gallery, Chicago
New York University Law School, New York (sale: Sotheby's, New York, 11th February 1987, lot 64)
Hammerbeck Works of Art, London (purchased at the above sale)
Richard Green, London
Private Collection (acquired by 1993; sale: Christie's, New York, 5th May 2005, lot 243)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

The canvas is not lined. There are a few small brushstrokes of retouching to the top right corner, a few small spots to the centre of the top edge and some minute specks of retouching to the top left corner, all visible under UV light. Otherwise this work is in very good condition. Colours: Richer and brighter in the original. The illustration is washed out.
"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."

Henri Martin was a painter of the pastoral idyll, a theme deeply rooted in the Languedoc region where he was born. Despite a dalliance with Symbolism early in his career and the adoption of techniques from pointillist painters, Martin for the most part stayed true to the principle of rendering nature, with a particular emphasis on atmospheric effects derived from Impressionism. His works are a pastoral ode the countryside of his native region, and bear the stamp of both ancient verse and modern literary movements from the Languedoc. Martin's murals for the Capitole of his native Toulouse celebrate the town's heritage of medieval pastoral verse sung by the troubadours who used to travel between the chivalric courts, and the pastoral element of his later landscapes are inspired by these courtly poets. This influence was complimented by the 'Groupe Naturiste', a literary movement that was initially centred around a group known as the Ecole de Toulouse, and led by a young writer Louis Le Blond who called for an end to artificial excesses of Symbolism and for artists to return to nature. Martin was aware of this movement by the 1890s, and it seems likely that his decision to suppress the allegorical and mythological from his work from around 1900 was influenced by this movement.   

The present work represents a subject Martin returned to on a number of occasions, the view from his house of Marquayrol that overlooked the valley of Labastide-du-Vert, near Cahors, southwest France. The harmonious interaction of manmade habitations and their natural environment are typical of the sense of peace and contentment that Martin brought to his art. Typically, the landscape is devoid of human incident, and the long shadows thrown by the trees suggesting either early morning or late evening. The broken brushwork dissolves the forms of the landscape, emulating the effect of a softening light; indeed Martin attributed his Divisionist technique to the study of nature: 'My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased later, after three months in the country, face to face with nature. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliging me to translate it any way I could, but other than by using a loaded brush – through pointillé and the breaking up of tone' (quoted in Henri Martin (exhibition catalogue), Musée Henri Martin, Cahors, 1992, p. 89). In a period in which art looked to the modern and abstract, Martin's work runs against the prevailing tide, looking back to a form of Romantic idealism that was overtaken by other cultural currents in the 20^th Century. However, his art still has a universal relevance; as René Albert Fleury commented in his 1905 book on Martin, 'He celebrates the majesty, the attitude and the labour of life and its everlasting rests. He sings life. His canvases and large frescos, all his works seem to evoke Georgic gods...He was lyrical and religious and still is. There is no genius with less than that' (J. Martin-Ferrieres, Henri Martin 1860-1943, Paris, 1967, p. 105).