Emile Claus

Estate of the artist
Private collection, Belgium (by descent from the above; sale: Sotheby's, London, 30 May 2008, lot 313)
Purchased at the above sale

London, Goupil Gallery, Réverbérations sur la Tamise: A Series of Paintings by Emile Claus, 1917, no. 48 (as Rough Weather)
Brussels, Galerie Georges Giroux, Solo exhibition, 1921, no. 3 (as Temps menaçant) 
Waregem, Kultuurcentrum de Schakel, Retrospektieve Emile Claus, 1985
Pontoise, Musée Tavet / Musée Pissarro, Éxposition Néo-Belge, 1990, no. 11
Oostend, Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Retrospektieve Emile Claus, 1997, no. 140, illustrated in the catalogue

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to its wooden stretcher. There is a very fine stretcher-bar line corresponding to the upper horizontal stretcher member. This appears stable and is barely visible. Ultra-violet light reveals a couple of pin-head sized spots of cosmetic retouching under the bridge closer to the left edge, and one spot in the signature just before the artist's date '16'. The painting is otherwise virtually untouched, in good original condition and ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame. Colours are somewhat deeper than in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

'There where the world saw only fog, smoke, vapour and dust, Claus saw effects, apparitions and Sylphides of colour curving in the skies, phosphorescent naiads illuminating the floods'
(Frédéric de Smet, 'Emile Claus', L'Art Belge, April 1921, p. 6)



The present work is part of Claus's series Réverbérations sur la Tamise (Reflections on the Thames) painted between 1914-1919, during his exile in London during the First World War. From his studio window on the fifth floor of Mowbray House, at the river end of Norfolk Street, above Temple station, Claus created impressions of the London skyline at different times of day and varying weather conditions. In his endeavour, he was clearly inspired by Claude Monet's scenes of the Thames viewed from the nearby Savoy hotel.

Claus's view south west takes in the old Waterloo Bridge, with industrial South Bank beyond, then dominated by the shot tower of the Lambeth Lead Works (which survived until the 1960s), and the Thames itself, at that time a major transport artery. Like Monet in his Impression, soleil levant, of the cranes and quaysides at Le Havre, Claus succeeds in transforming the capital's watery industrial humdrum into a poetic vision, the soft, wispy brushstroke and soft tonal palette of greys and blues evoking a fleeting impression of beauty.