Léon-Augustin Lhermitte

Joseph A. Skinner, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Thence by descent (and sold, Christie's, New York, October 30, 1992, lot 96, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Monique Le Pelley Fonteny, Léon Augustin Lhermitte (1844-1925), Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 1991, p. 143, no. 200, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in very good condition. L'hermitte's technique at this period is driven by glazes and thinness which is all intentional and the paint layer here is extremely healthy. There are no damage and no restorations, except for some very minor frame abrasion around the extreme edges. The painting should be hung as is.
"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."

Lhermitte, like his contemporaries Jean François Millet and Jules Breton, looked to rural French life for his subject matter and it was the gleaner more than any other laborer who most typified the French peasant class. While Millet had a more realistic vision of what he observed - he never sought to hide the toll of years of hard labor on his subjects - Lhermitte's viewpoint was more idealized.   His gleaners resemble a trio of graceful figures in an antique frieze as they bend down to pick the morsels of grain left over from what has obviously been a bountiful harvest.  The landscape is bathed in golden sunlight, which emphasizes the almost Arcadian atmosphere of the setting.

This composition must have appealed to Lhermitte as he executed two other versions, an earlier pastel in 1885 (Le Pelley Fonteny, p. 211, no. 287), and a later variant in oil (Le Pelley Fonteny, p. 147, no. 221).  Our painting is listed as unsigned in the catalogue raisonné, which can be explained by the fact that Lhermitte's son Charles would photograph his father's works before they were signed.