Lot 162
  • 162

Henri Martin

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Henri Martin
  • Amoureux au printemps, version avec cadre fleuri
  • signed Henri Martin (lower left)
  • oil on canvas
  • 92 by 77.2cm., 36 by 30½in.

Provenance

Madame Heeley, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1967

Condition

The canvas is not lined. There are areas of stable thin craquelure along the upper edges in the blue paint of the sky. There is some undulation along the centre of the left edge. Otherwise this work is in overall good 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

In 1900, Martin acquired property in Labastide-du-Vert, a small village in France's Midi-Pyrenées region. On the thirty acres of land stood a large seventeenth-century manor named Marquayrol, a place Martin would enjoy as a summer residence and the setting for many of his greatest pictures. The artist wrote of this period as a turning point in his career: 'My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased later, after three months in the country, face to face with nature. Trying to capture its diverse effects, I was compelled to paint it differently. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliged me to translate it any way I could, but other than using a loaded brush through pointillé and the breaking up of tone' (quoted in Eden Close at Hand: The Paintings of Henri Martin (exhibition catalogue), Anderson Galleries, Beverly Hills, 2005, p. 26).

The present work was painted near Marquayrol. It was here that the artist felt most at ease and it is therefore not surprising that the landscape inspired many of his most noteworthy compositions. Amoureux au printemps, version avec cadre fleuri depicts a country promenade through the dells of le Midi on a sunny summer afternoon. A couple strolls by a group of grazing sheep and goats, the woman lifting a young animal into her arms. In the background and throughout the outer border, vividly coloured trees and flowers lend a decorative and even lyrical quality to the scene, evoking the artist's earlier mythical and allegorical imagery.