Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

Franz Goerg (and sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, May 30, 1910, lot 20, illustrated)
Private Collection, South America (acquired in France)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Salon, 1904, no. 323

"The Paris Salons," The Art Journal, 1904, p. 212
Kristin L. Spangenberg, French drawings, watercolors, and pastels, 1800-1950 : a catalogue raisonné of the collection, Cincinnati, 1978, p. 38 and note 1 (as Woman in White), illustrated fig. 30A
Gabriel P. Weisberg, "The French Anti-Modern Connection: Several French Academicians in the Todd Collection," in Joseph S. Czestochowski, The Legacy of Albert Mary Todd, Kalamazoo Historic Conservancy for Preservation of Art,  Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2000, p. 43, note 13
Gabriel P. Weisberg, Against the Modern, Dagnan-Bouveret and the Transformation of the Academic Tradition, New York, 2002, p. 146 (within the appendix of "The Salons of P.-A.-J. Dagnan-Bouveret" compiled by Michelle Montgomery) 

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This canvas has been lined. The paint layer is stable but the cracking is slightly raised throughout. A fresh lining would improve the surface. This large work is quite loosely painted and some of the drawing lines, such as in the hands for example, are visible. However, this is probably not necessarily the result of poor cleaning. Under ultraviolet light, one can see a couple of small retouches in the upper right, and some slight thinness to the veil on the left side of the head. There is very slight thinness around the ear on the left, in the fingers and in the chin that could be addressed. The work may be slightly dirty. Although there may be a few other retouches that are not apparent, the work seems to be in very fresh condition. While it is in very presentable condition as is, a different lining and perhaps a fresher surface would make noticeable improvement.
"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."

By 1900, Dagnan-Bouveret had shifted from his naturalist subjects of the late nineteenth century to religious scenes inspired by Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite artists, commissioned portraits, and works revealing a symbolist influence, such as Sur les cimes (On the Summit).  In the present work, a mysterious maiden sits atop a mountain, dressed in a white robe and veil which swirl around her body like snow, her hair tinged with white frost, and her skin nearly as pale as the ice crystals set in a stone cistern beside her; behind her, a far-distant valley bordered by cold-blue mountains and a glacial lake suggest a remote, frozen locale.  Without identifiable allegorical or mythological sources, the viewer is left to ponder the mystical origins of this haunting woman.

The  allusive subject of Sur les cimes recalls Dagan-Bouveret's earlier compositions like In the Meadow and In the Forest of 1893 which attracted the attention of critics and fellow artists aligned with the symbolist movement.  In these paintings a recognizable scene — a woman tending her cow, a group of peasants taking a break from work to listen to music — is infused with a moody atmosphere and a surreal suggestion of the relationship between people and nature (Weisberg, pp. 100-3).  As a critic for La Liberté noted, with such compositions Dagnan-Bouveret, like Edmond François Aman-Jean or Edward Burne-Jones, brought the "poetry out of a reality that is strictly observed and captured" (A. Pallier, "Le Salon de 1893, Champs de Mars, Les Poètes," La Liberté, May 9, 1893, p. 2, as quoted in Weisberg, p. 103).  Sur les cimes inspired a similar response, and a writer for the Art Journal linked the wintry color palette with a particular emotion:  "the white and blue tones are cleverly handled, and the idea of solitude and vast distance well conveyed" ("The Paris Salons," p. 212).  The isolation of the female figure puzzled some, but her mysterious presence could serve as a starting point for the imagination, a way to bring out what is hidden in the subconscious.  The ice queen's commanding stare suggests the inexplicable power of female beauty, a common component of symbolist "portraits" of women.

Among those admirers of Sur le cimes, Dagnan-Bouveret himself seemed to have been particularly haunted by its beauty.  Despite some mixed reviews, Sur les cimes was quickly reproduced as a photograph by Braun suggesting its popularity.  Interestingly, the artist applied pastel over a copy of this same photograph to create a smaller replique of the oil, faithful to the original both in composition and mood.  This pastel was acquired by Albert May Todd, a wealthy peppermint grower and manufacturer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and in 2000 it was exhibited by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum among other works by Gaston Bussière, Jules-Alexis Muenier, Jean Jacques Henner and American artists making up the larger Todd Collection.  In the accompanying catalogue, Dr. Gabriel P. Weisberg  investigates the pastel's history and suggests that it points to the artist's particular affection for the composition and its model, Jeanne Dortzal (Weisberg, "French Anti-Modern, p. 43, note 13). 

Dortzal's biography is as dramatic as the painting she inspired.  In 1899,  The New York Times reported of the debut of Dortzal, "a young actress"  and beauty competition winner born in 1878 in Nemours, Algeria; she was already famous for inspiring a duel between an "Arab sheik" and a "French naval officer" before running away to Paris ("The Drama," The New York Times, July 16, 1899).  Accompanying the article is a sketched portrait of Dortzal, then twenty-one, bearing an almost identical likeness to the model of Sur les cimes painted four years later (it is yet to be determined if Dagnan-Bouveret created this sketch).  In the years following Sur les cimes' exhibition at the Paris Salon, a writer for La revue noted that Dortzal was the "mysterious beauty who inspired the painter Dagnan-Bouveret" ("Nos poètes," La Revue, vol. IX, September 1908, p. 390).  She was also celebrated as a poetess, who authored lyrical works with romantically haunting titles like Vers l'infini.  Dagnan-Bouveret captured Dortzal's likeness a number of times, including an illustration for a March 1912 article in The Theater, in which her pose and posture closely recall Sur les cimes.

In 1910, Sur les cimes, then known as Femme en blanc, was sold in the auction of Franz Goerg's collection, which included equally dreamy compositions of women by the French symbolist painter Eugene Carrière and Henri Fantin-Latour.  After the sale, the work was believed to be part of a South American collection, but its exact whereabouts remained unknown until today.  Now, after 100 years, Sur les cimes has reemerged to intrigue and inspire audiences once again.

Please note this work will be sold unframed.