DANIEL RIDGWAY KNIGHT | POPPIES

R.H. Love Galleries, Chicago

The setting of the present work is Daniel Ridgway Knight’s home in Rolleboise, a rural commune northwest of Paris. Taking respite from a day’s labor, the artist’s model admires the wild and brightly hued poppies in the artist’s garden overlooking the Seine. Ridgway Knight’s fame came from his garden compositions during this period and he always depicted the blooms with meticulous detail, and the blaze of flowers is particularly vibrant in this large work.

Having recently been knighted into the Légion d’Honneur, Ridgway Knight settled in Rolleboise in the 1890s to continue painting the subject he had so loved throughout his career, which was also highly sought after by contemporary collectors: the idyllic life of peasants in rural France. The rapid modernization and industrialization of Paris in the nineteenth century had led artists such as Jean-François Millet, Jules Breton and William Bouguereau to appreciate and romanticize the simplicity of life in the countryside. Ridgway Knight completely immersed himself in provincial living to better understand his subjects: he befriended the local people, many of whom became his models, and would not install running water and electricity in his home. The present scene is devoid of any industrial advancements or technology that had become so commonplace in late nineteenth century depictions of the Seine and its environs. On this stretch of river there are neither steamboats nor modern bridges stretching across the gray water, and no smoke stacks or factories on the horizon. In this secluded artist’s paradise Ridgway Knight could paint his idealized, colorful compositions far removed from modern life.