Lot 25
  • 25

ALBERT BESNARD | A Howdah in Hyderabad

Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Albert Besnard
  • A Howdah in Hyderabad
  • signed ABesnard lower left
  • watercolour and gouache on paper
  • 60 by 48cm., 23½ by 19in.

Provenance

Galerie Jean-Pierre Gros, Paris
Purchased from the above by the present owner in circa 2008

Exhibited

Evian, Palais Lumière; Paris, Petit Palais-Musée des beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris, Albert Besnard (1849-1934): Modernités Belle Époque, 2016-17, no. 90, illustrated in the catalogue (as Un Howdah)

Literature

H. Bidou, Touche à tout, 1912, n.p
Henri Frantz, 1912, p. 168
Ph. Besnard, unpublished M.S., n.d.
Chantal Beauvalot, Albert Besnard et l’Inde, exh. cat., Galerie Philippe Heim, Paris, 2004
'Albert Besnard (1849-1934): modernités Belle Époque', in Le Guide culturel au pays du Mont-Blanc, 2016, illustrated
Actualité de l’Art, 2016, illustrated
L’Estampille / L’ Objet d’Art hors série,
n° 102 , p. 31, illustrated
La Gazette Drouot, 1 July 2016, p. 210, illustrated
Arts Magazine, July/August, 2016, p. 31, illustrated
Léonard
, September 2016, p. 36, illustrated

Condition

Watercolour and gouache on paper. The artist's sheet has been fully laid on a thick sheet of cardboard, thus preventing inspection of the back. The board is flat, even, and ensuring a stable support. There are pin holes in the four corners and along the extreme framing edges, and there is one small area of paper loss in the far lower left corner. There are some traces of discoloration along the upper edge. Some spots of paint lifting are visible in the red gouache in the tent in the lower right quadrant - these might benefit from some consolidation. Colours are bright and well preserved. Overall, this work is in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented glazed, in a decorative gilt frame.
"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

Executed in 1912.

With its bold palette, the present work is a vivid depiction of Hyderabad as observed by Albert Besnard on his Indian journey of 1911-12. The scene gives artistic form to a passage described in Besnard's account of his travels, L'Homme en rose: L'Inde couleur de sang: 'Elephants with their trunk decorated with arabesques of gold and silver, pass like ships between us and the sun, casting great areas of shade on the crowd.'

A winner of the Prix de Rome (1874), and Director of the Villa Médicis in Rome (1913-21) and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1922-32), Besnard had a successful career. He is best known for his public murals, which include the ceilings of the Comédie Française and the cupola of the Petit Palais in Paris.