- 148
THÉO VAN RYSSELBERGHE | Pluie fine
Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Théo van Rysselberghe
- Pluie fine
- signed Théo van Rysselberghe (lower left)
- oil on canvas
- 56 by 67cm., 22 by 26 3/8 in.
- Painted in 1887.
Provenance
Private Collection, Belgium (acquired in Brussels in 1889)
Private Collection, Belgium
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Private Collection, Belgium
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Brussels, Musée d'Art Moderne, VIme Exposition des XX, 1889, no. VI (titled Pluie fine)
Literature
'Petite chronique', in L'Art Moderne, Brussels, IX, 1889, p. 79, (titled Pluie fine)
Eugène Demolder, Impressions d’art. Etudes – Critiques – Transpositions , Bruxelles, Des presses de Madame Veuve Monnom, 1889, p. 54 (titled Pluie fine)
Susan M. Canning, A History and Critical Review of the Salons of Les Vingt, 1884-1893. A Thesis in Art History, Pennsylvania State University, 1980, p. 260
Eugène Demolder, Impressions d’art. Etudes – Critiques – Transpositions , Bruxelles, Des presses de Madame Veuve Monnom, 1889, p. 54 (titled Pluie fine)
Susan M. Canning, A History and Critical Review of the Salons of Les Vingt, 1884-1893. A Thesis in Art History, Pennsylvania State University, 1980, p. 260
Condition
Please note that there is a professional condition report for this work, please contact mariella.salazar@sothebys.com to request a copy.
"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."
"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
With its careful dappling of light and loose brushstrokes Pluie fine, painted circa 1887, reflects the influence of the Neo-Impressionists upon van Rysselberghe. Exploring the division of colour, the present work prefigures the artist’s move into Pointillism, a style which would define his later artistic years. Dissatisfaction with contemporary life spurred painters to search for an idyllic landscape of the past. Scenes such as the present defy temporal specification and suggest an attempt to convey the sublime. Capturing the impression of Arcadian beauty that the artist was so fervently in pursuit of, the present work evokes the beatific coastline of Southern France painted in a manner controversial to the Academy. Van Rysselberghe spent time roaming Europe searching for inspiration and in December of 1887 he was to make his third trip to Morocco. His time in Morocco and his frequent sojourns to the South of France introduced him to the scenery he so avidly sought to portray.
The Neo-Impressionists became fixated upon a quest for a ‘New Arcadia’, a land in which social equality prevailed. Van Rysselberghe, alongside artistic peers such as Henri Cross and Paul Signac, spent a lot of time in the South of France where the lifestyle was far removed from the bustle of the capital. The South of France became a utopia where van Rysselberghe reimagined the local people as working in blissful harmony, at one with the fields in which they toiled. Although unpopulated, van Rysselberghe reflects this idyll in the present work through the tranquillity of the landscape portrayed.
The representation of light became a primary focus for van Rysselberghe following a trip in 1883 when the artist travelled to Haarlem to study light in the work of Frans Hals. As the Impressionists had done before him, van Rysselberghe often worked en plein air, carrying his canvases with him to allow for a more realistic and enchanting representation of painterly light. The small scale of this work made this method of working possible.
As a prominent co-founder of the avant-garde group Les XX, van Rysselberghe sought to reinvigorate art and rebel against the outmoded academicism that prevailed in the 19th century. After exhibiting his work in the 1886 Les XX exhibition of French Impressionists he became influenced by Monet and Renoir and experimented with the Impressionist technique. In Pluie fine Van Rysselberghe employs layered brushstrokes to capture the transient impression of a moment in time, resulting in an atmospheric landscape that captures the ephemeral nature of light. Pluie fine is a beautiful example of Van Rysselberghe’s technique of light-painting and portends his later development into the exploration of light through Pointillism.
To be included in the forthcoming Van Rysselberghe online Catalogue raisonnée under n. 1887.079 being prepared by Ronald Feltkamp. We thank Olivier Bertrand for providing additional information on this painting which will be included in his Théo Van Rysselberghe Catalogue raisonné.
The Neo-Impressionists became fixated upon a quest for a ‘New Arcadia’, a land in which social equality prevailed. Van Rysselberghe, alongside artistic peers such as Henri Cross and Paul Signac, spent a lot of time in the South of France where the lifestyle was far removed from the bustle of the capital. The South of France became a utopia where van Rysselberghe reimagined the local people as working in blissful harmony, at one with the fields in which they toiled. Although unpopulated, van Rysselberghe reflects this idyll in the present work through the tranquillity of the landscape portrayed.
The representation of light became a primary focus for van Rysselberghe following a trip in 1883 when the artist travelled to Haarlem to study light in the work of Frans Hals. As the Impressionists had done before him, van Rysselberghe often worked en plein air, carrying his canvases with him to allow for a more realistic and enchanting representation of painterly light. The small scale of this work made this method of working possible.
As a prominent co-founder of the avant-garde group Les XX, van Rysselberghe sought to reinvigorate art and rebel against the outmoded academicism that prevailed in the 19th century. After exhibiting his work in the 1886 Les XX exhibition of French Impressionists he became influenced by Monet and Renoir and experimented with the Impressionist technique. In Pluie fine Van Rysselberghe employs layered brushstrokes to capture the transient impression of a moment in time, resulting in an atmospheric landscape that captures the ephemeral nature of light. Pluie fine is a beautiful example of Van Rysselberghe’s technique of light-painting and portends his later development into the exploration of light through Pointillism.
To be included in the forthcoming Van Rysselberghe online Catalogue raisonnée under n. 1887.079 being prepared by Ronald Feltkamp. We thank Olivier Bertrand for providing additional information on this painting which will be included in his Théo Van Rysselberghe Catalogue raisonné.