Lot 145
  • 145

Henri Edmond Cross

Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 GBP
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Description

  • Henri Edmond Cross
  • PAYSAGE DE LA CHAINE DES MAURES
  • signed Henri Edmond Cross (lower left)

  • oil on canvas
  • 65.2 by 81cm., 25 5/8 by 31 7/8 in.

Provenance

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired by 1910)
Private Collection (sale: Sotheby's, London, 26th March 1985, lot 11)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Druet, H. E. Cross, 1905, no. 2
Paris, Société des Artistes indépendants, 1906, no. 1185
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, H. E. Cross, 1910, no. 5
Brussels, La Libre Esthétique, Rétrospective H. E. Cross, 1911, no. 41
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, La Montagne, 1911, no. 11
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, H.E. Cross, 1913, no. 40
Brussels, Galerie Georges Giroux, Exposition Anniversaire 1911-46, Trente cinq ans d'activité, 1946, no. 28 

Literature

Lucie Cousturier, 'H. E. Cross', L'Art Décoratif, March 1913, illustrated p. 126
Isabelle Compin, H. E. Cross, Paris, 1964, no. 130, illustrated p. 231

Condition

The canvas is not lined and there are no signs of retouching visible under UV light. Apart from some very light surface dirt to the sky, this work is in good original 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."

Catalogue Note

Executed in 1904 Paysage de la Chaine des Maures is a brilliant display of colours carefully juxtaposed to create a sun drenched landscape. The work is a tour de force of the Divisionist movement which Cross, as a founder member of the Societé des Artistes Indépendants, had done so much to promote. This style of painting which evolved out of Pointilism in the years after 1884 sought to achieve maximum luminosity via the optical impact of the juxtaposition of small applications of pigments of pure colour.

In the rich mosaic-like landscape, Cross brings to life the atmosphere of a hot summer's afternoon under a  Mediterranean sun, suffusing the scene in a harmonious light in which the lolling figure basks. Commenting on Cross's handling of paint to achieve such effects Maurice Denis said that 'Cross has resolved to represent the sun, not by bleaching his colours, but by exalting them, and by the boldness of his colour contrasts.... The sun is not for him a phenomenon which makes everything white, but is a source of harmony which hots up nature's colours, authorises the most heightened colour-scale, and provides the subject for all sorts of colour fantasies' (John House, Post Impressionism, Royal Academy of Art, London, 1979, p. 61).