Achille Laugé

Marcel Flavian, Paris (and sold by the estate: Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, June 17-18, 1998, lot 199)
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

This painting is lined and recently restored. The only change to the existing restoration is that the date in the lower left has become more visible since the retouching to the picture in this area was removed to show the date of 1902. Although the painting looks well , there is a fair amount of retouching visible under ultraviolet light -- particularly in the sky. The painting is still slightly dirty and was not cleaned prior to the retouching. There are no structural issues; the canvas is not torn. The paint layer seems to have become unstable at some point and but the instability is corrected and the losses have been retouched. The painting should be hung in its current state. The above condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes, an independent conservator who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Laugé’s Pointillist sensibility is eloquently realized in this landscape of Cailhau, a small commune situated in the South of France. Neo-Impressionism, termed by the critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe the works of Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and Camille and Lucien Pissarro, emerged in the late nineteenth century as a reaction against Impressionism. Unlike their predecessors, who too sought to capture the ephemeral qualities of light in their brushwork, the Neo-Impressionists were unique in their scientific approach to light and color as well as their patient and systematic application of paint. As Robert L. Herbert comments, “Their paintings breathed a spirit of clear order, firm decision, scientific logic, and a startling definiteness of structure that constituted an open challenge to the instinctive art of the Impressionists of the previous decade. The most conspicuous act of defiance was their mechanical brushwork, which deliberately suppressed the personality of the artists and so flouted the individualism dear to the Impressionists” (Robert L. Herbert, Neo-Impressionism, New York, 1968, p. 15).

While Laugé was not an official member of the Parisian Neo-Impressionist group, he worked alongside them throughout the 1880s, avidly exploring their Pointillist technique and Divisionist theories. He went on to exhibit his works in a number of prominent spaces, including at the Salon des Indépendents in 1894 and in Toulouse with the Nabis in the same year; his works were further displayed in several one-man shows with prominent gallerists in Paris, including Nunè et Fiquet in 1919, Bernheim-Jeune in 1923 and Georges Petit in 1927 (ibid., p. 66). The present work was painted after 1895 when Laugé moved permanently to Cailhau. His mastery of the Pointillist technique is dramatically manifested in his precise brushwork and brilliantly harmonious color palette.