Henri Le Sidaner

Marcel Bernheim & Cie, Paris
Sale: Christie's, London, May 7, 2009, lot 228 

Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, l'Oeuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, no. 614, illustrated p. 237

The work is in excellent condition. The canvas has not been lined. The impasto has been well preserved and the colors are fresh and vibrant. Under UV light: certain pigments fluoresce. A nailhead-sized spot of inpainting is visible in the top right and bottom left corner.
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Henri Le Sidaner found constant inspiration for his artwork in the landscape of his home at Gerberoy in the North of France. Like Monet before him, he devoted endless time and care to his gardens and delighted in the beauty of the land where plants and buildings would intertwine in graceful harmony. Visitors today can tour the grounds of Le Sidaner’s home and marvel at the way in which he channelled his artistic vision into his surroundings. Preserved too in his paintings, Le Sidaner ensured that his lovingly crafted gardens could be shared with everyone for generations to come.

The present work captures the sense of a spontaneous glance at a quiet enclave in the artist’s garden, where at any moment a soft breeze or cloud might alter the elements that have combined to create this charming scene. The opening in the rustic stone wall, which is adorned by flower pots, tantalizingly invites the viewer forward and into the world of the picture. There is a note of mystery in the air as one wonders where the path might lead and what delights the abundant growth ahead might be hiding. The soft, earthy palette is punctuated at the right of the path by a small patch of vibrant red geraniums, adding a tone of vitality to the hushed scene.

Les pots de faïence illustrates the effects of natural light, a theme that enthralled Le Sidaner throughout his working life and inspired some of his most dazzling paintings. As he himself would note, “no landscape was worth painting if it was not enhanced by some play of light” (Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, op. cit., p. 9). Le Sidaner found the fickle nature of light endlessly delightful and devoted much of his artistic skill to recreating its natural, effortless beauty and trying to make permanent its intrinsically fleeting effects. The dappled light in this work illuminating only sporadic patches of the garden skilfully achieves a sense of impermanence and suggests a real moment for Le Sidaner, who swiftly put the image to memory before it vanished.