Henri le Sidaner

Galerie Georges Petit, Paris
William Marchant & Co., London
Mrs Wells Rotherhill, Stedham
John Parkinson (sale: Sotheby's London, 1st March 1959, lot 171)
Wally Findlay Galleries, New York
Private Collection, USA (sale: Sotheby's New York, 18th February 1988, lot 23)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 4th April 1990, lot 373
Sale: Christie's, New York, 11th May 1995, lot 255
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

London, Goupil Gallery, Hampton Court and London by Henri Le Sidaner, 1908
Paris, La Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, Salon d'automne, 1909, no. 727

Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, l'œuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, no. 242, illustrated p. 115

The canvas is not lined. UV inspection confirms evidence of retouching along the top edge of the painting and some retouching to the upper left and right hand corners. There is an additional spot of retouching half way down the left hand edge. There are fine stress cracks running along the top edge frame rebate. Otherwise, this work is in overall good condition. Colours are fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, although the original is brighter and fresher.
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Le Palais, Matin d'Été is a pertinent example of the type of painting for which Le Sidaner is best known. The absence of figures is central to his most successful paintings, as noted by fellow painter Paul Signac: ‘His entire work is influenced by a taste of tender, soft and silent atmospheres. Gradually, he even went so far as to eliminate from his paintings all human figures, as if he feared that the slightest human form might disturb their muffled silence.’ (quoted in Yann Farinaux, Le Sidaner, L’œuvre peint et gravé, Milan, 1989, p.31). However it is Le Sidaner’s consistently striking and subtle palette in the manner of the true Impressionists that most identifies this work as integral to his œuvre, as was noted by the contemporary critic Roger Milles when commenting on this series: ‘A slow and logical evolution has taken place in his work, moving towards the harmonious use of pleasant colours in which the relationships between shades, while remaining calm in tone, are nevertheless extremely powerful.’ (quoted in ibid p.33).

Having decided that the winters at his favoured painting location, Gerberoy, were too bitter, Le Sidaner travelled regularly to less uncomfortable locations that resulted in paintings depicting Venice, Verbania Pallanza, Beaulieu-sur-mer, Chartres, Versailles, London and Hampton Court. His first solo exhibition was held at the Goupil Gallery in 1905 and the exceptional reception of his œuvre by British audiences occasioned for the adaptation of his subject matter. In February 1907 he is recorded as having visited Hampton Court, but unlike other Impressionists Le Sidaner preferred to work from memory hence this piece’s late date. That said, The Pond Garden, Hampton Court (fig. 1) held in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, appears to have been painted on the lid of a cigar box and may well be a rare example of spontaneous inspiration from the artist that demonstrates his profound affection for the palace.