Albert Lebourg

L. Bénédite, G. Bergaud, Albert Lebourg, Paris, 1923, p. 369, no. 1667

Albert Lebourg sojourned at Saint-Gingolph, a small Franco-Swiss village of 600 inhabitants straddling the Morge river on Lake Geneva, from the end of August until late November 1902 upon recommendation of his doctor, Dr. Théodore Gaillard (1854-1925).

Up to 60 large boats ferrying heavy loads such as boulders from the Meillierie quarry could be found in the port of Saint-Gingolph in 1900. In a yet unpublished letter written on 30^th September 1902 to Alice Lambin, Lebourg shared : “I feel much more satisfied with my work here than I have in a long while. It’s entirely different and the mountains offer a beautiful palette of colours and painting Switzerland isn’t fashionable…”

This painting’s great qualities are a solid composition, a beautiful juxtaposition of sky and water, magnificent autumnal tones on the mountain faces and a discrete pair of wanderers in an alpine wonderland.

One should note that Albert Lebourg submitted six landscapes (Bords du lac de Genève) at the 1903 Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. It was during this stay that he painted 29 paintings, including this one, n°1667, according to Georges Bergaud’s catalogue raisonné entitled Albert Lebourg and published by Galeries Georges Petit in 1923.

We thank Mr. Lespinasse for his contribution.