LEON AUGUSTIN LHERMITTE (FRENCH 1844-1925)

Lot 514

About Seller

566 East Boston Post Road
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
United States

Our auctions feature an impressive selection of fine art, decorative art, rare books, icons, militaria, and other objects from antiquity to the present. Shapiro Auctions advertises globally and has clients all over the world, while providing a rare combination of personal service and the ability to ...Read more

Bid Increments

Price	Bid Increment
$0	$25
$500	$50
$1,000	$100
$2,000	$250
$5,000	$500
$10,000	$1,000
$20,000	$2,500
$50,000	$5,000
$100,000	$10,000
$200,000	$25,000

About Auction

European, American, Russian, and Asian Fine & Decorative Art by Shapiro Auctions

Live

European, American, Russian, and Asian Fine &...

By Shapiro Auctions

Sep 26, 2015 - Sep 27, 2015

Set Reminder 2015-09-26 10:00:00 2015-09-27 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : European, American, Russian, and Asian Fine & Decorative Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/shapiro/european-american-russian-and-asian-fine-decorative-art-883 Shapiro Auctions info@shapiroauctions.com

View Full Catalog (429)

Lot Description

LEON AUGUSTIN LHERMITTE (FRENCH 1844-1925)
Depart des laveuses le soir, 1892
oil on canvas
98 x 78 cm (38 1/2 x 30 3/4 in.)
signed and dated lower left L Lhermitte 1892

PROVENANCE
Acquired from Boussod, Valadon & Cie, Paris (no. 22249)
Collection of John Parkinson, Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (loan 1920-1946)
Vose Galleries, Boston, MA
Collection of Jacob L. Rosenthal, New York, NY
Private Collection, New York

EXHIBITED
Salon de la Societe nationale des beaux-arts, 1892, no. 683
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA 1920-1946

LITERATURE
New York Herald, March 29, 1892
Doumic R. le Moniteur universel, May 5, 1892
Fourtel Eugene, le Petit Marseillais, May 5, 1892
les Petites Nouvelles, May 5, 1892
Andre A. la France nouvelle, May 6, 1892
Cardon E., le Moniteur des arts, May 6, 1892
Correspondence Haras, May 6, 1892
Fremine Ch., le Rappel, May 7, 1892
l'Electeur, May 7, 1892
Silvestre A. l'Echo de Paris, May 7, 1892
De Fontissant M., le Telegraphe, May 9, 1892
Dac H., le Monde, May 16, 1892
Godin H., la Revue des Beaux-Arts, May 21, 1892
l'Echo republicain, May 27, 1892
De Gourcoff O., l'Avenir national, May 28, 1892
Dalligny A., le Journal des arts, May 31, 1892
le Phare de Dunkerque, June 10, 1892
Talansier Ch., le Genie civil, July 2, 1892
Furnel Ch., Revue moderne, September 10, 1892
Hamel M. M., op cit., C 184, cat. No. 181
Monique Le Pelley Fonteny, Leon Augustin Lhermitte: 1844-1925, Catalogue Raisonne, (Paris: Editions Cercle D`Art, 1991), p. 136, no. 160, illustrated

LOT NOTES
Leon Lhermitte spent the formative years of his life in rural northern France before moving to Paris at the age of 19 in 1863 to attend the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and debuting at the salon the following year. He has been praised for his monumental and unsentimental treatment of the peasant life with which he himself was so familiar from an early age. Lhermitte at once showed the hard, daily toil of the rural working class and imbued his subjects with a sense of dignity so often lacking in the works of his predecessors.

Lhermitte revisited the subject of women doing laundry on the banks of the Marne on several occasions, but this composition focusing on two young women at dusk is among his most striking. When Depart des Laveuses le Soir was shown in 1892 at the Salon exhibition of the new Societe nationale des beaux-arts it caused quite a stir, and in the catalogue raisonne Monique Le Pelley Fonteny has accrued an extensive list of reviews and mentions of the painting in contemporary publications. In the 20th century, the work continued to fascinate and inspire its audience during the decades it was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Ever since first seeing his work in the early 1880s, Vincent van Gogh was taken with the Lhermitte: ?He`s a master of the figure. He`s able to do what he likes with it -- conceiving the whole neither from the color nor from the local tone, but rather proceeding from the light -- as Rembrandt did -- there`s something astonishingly masterly in everything he does -- in modeling, above all things, he utterly satisfies the demands of honesty.? (Letter to his brother Theo, September 2, 1885)

In the dapples of soft pink on a robin egg blue sky, the reflections of the setting sun in the water highlighted with scrapes from the wooden end of the brush, and the delicate silhouette of the carefully modeled peasant woman`s profile shimmering in the twilight, one can sense Lhermitte`s attempt to create a synergy between the teaching of the academies and the play of light using unadulterated colors popularized by the Impressionists.

The admiration heaped upon Lhermitte by the van Gogh brothers may have also contributed to the artist`s association with Boussod, Valadon & Cie, the prominent international gallery which signed an exclusive contract of representation with Lhermitte in 1887. Vincent van Gogh (the uncle of the painter) was a partner at the firm, and both of the brothers were at one point or another employed by the gallery, as well.

PLEASE NOTE
If you will be bidding live on auction day, please note that Session I of the Auction (Asian and Russian Fine & Decorative Art), starts at 10:00 AM New York Time and goes from Lot 1 through Lot 254. Session II of the Auction (European, American and International Fine & Decorative Art) starts at 3:00 PM New York Time and goes from Lot 500 through Lot 676. We sell approximately 70 lots per hour.
Shipping Info
- Arranging and paying for shipping of property is the responsibility of the purchaser as we do not ship directly. If you are interested in receiving a shipping quote before or after the auction, we suggest that you contact several local shippers. Some shippers our clients have used in the past include:
  
  For items shipped from New York City
  
  (1) Lex Pack and Ship (Bob or Irma), Tel. +1 (212) 288-4425, email: info@lexpackandship.com
  
  (2) The UPS Store (Waldo) Tel. +1 (917) 217-7680, email: wrodriguez5979@theupsstore.com
  
  (3) The UPS Store (Riaz), Tel. +1 (212) 585-4195, email: store5899@theupsstore.com
  
  (4) Fine Art Shippers, LLC, (Oleg) Tel. +1 (917) 658-5075, email: rusant11@hotmail.com (also can help with Russia/CIS Shipments, including crates)
  
  (5) Global Transit Group (Rostislav), Tel. +1 (718) 449-1971, email: info@globaltgroup.net (Russia/CIS Shipments)
  
  For larger items, art shuttles, and anything requiring wooden crates or specialized art transport
  
  (1) Thomas Sullivan Transportation Management Inc.: +1 (718) 822-4169, email: sullivantrans@aol.com
  
  (2) James Bourlet, Inc: +1 (718) 392-9770, email: quotes@bourlet.com
  
  (3) Atelier 4: +1 (718) 433-3500, email: info@atelier4.com
  
  (4) Dietl International: +1 (212) 991-9154, email: info@dietl.com
  
  For local van and truck deliveries in New York City, Long Island, and the Tri-State Area
  
  (1) Crossroads Delivery (Arthur): +1 (917) 807-3758, email: arthurcrossroads@hotmail.com
  
  Please note, clients are free to choose their own shippers. We are not liable for the actions of any outside shippers and these recommendations are provided only for convenience.