- 323
Henri Le Sidaner
Description
- Henri Le Sidaner
- La Table devant la fenêtre
- signed Le Sidaner (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 60.8 by 73cm., 24 by 28 3/4 in.
Provenance
Knoedler & Co, Paris
Collection H. van Beek, Rotterdam (acquired by 1933)
Private Collection, United Kingdom (by descent from the above)
Thence by descent to the present owners
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Exposition de Brighton, 1923, no. 158
Amsterdam, Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker, Het Stilleven, 1933, no. 88
Literature
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
La Table devant la fenêtre was painted in Versailles, where Le Sidaner had first moved in 1903. The artist and his family spent the winters there, returning to the town of Gerberoy during the summer, where he also owned a property. Versailles soon became the artist’s favourite place of residence, providing him with numerous compositional subjects. In his later years, Le Sidaner would focus heavily on depictions of Versailles that ‘include intimate views into and out of his own living quarters, in which draftsmanship and composition increasingly give way to painterly effects and to broader and rougher brushwork’ (Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner: l’Œuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, p. 178). The invitingly adorned table positioned in front of a window was a favoured theme for the artist, enabling him to communicate a palpable distinction between external and internal light. His son recalls: ‘[Le Sidaner] frequently represented interiors, in which the sunlight was softened by gently rippling curtains. When my father caught one of these ‘special effects,’ he nodded in my direction and stood there, glazing towards the horizon, impressing on his mind the scene he had just witnessed’ (ibid., p. 10).
The significance of La Table devant la fenêtre was highlighted by its inclusion in an exhibition at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in 1921, the year of its creation. By 1933 it had passed into a private collection, remaining with the descendants of the same family until the present day.