Lot Essay
The award of the Grand Prix from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Toulouse enabled Martin to attend the Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under J.P. Laurens. Success at the Salon came quickly. In 1889, under the influence of Ernest Laurent and possibly the Italian Segantini, Martin adopted Neo-Impressionism. Although an easel painter throughout his life, it was as a decorative artist that he made his name in the 1890s. The subject matter of his paintings became increasingly oriented towards landscapes and scenes of contemporary
bucolic life. (John House, The Legacy of Impressionism in
France,Post-Impressionism, London, 1979, p.127)
Due to the artist's early success at the Salons, Martin was the recepient of several state commissioned projects, including the most celebrated triptych for the Capitole of Toulouse in 1903. This was a monumental composition by Henri Martin, often described as "Spring, Summer and Autumn" or simply Les faucheurs. On the triptych the central panel measures 600 x 900cm. (272 x 408½in.).
The present painting, Les faucheurs, is the final preparatory oil
for the centerpiece of the Toulouse triptych. The planar composition
indicates the influence of Puvis de Chavannes' mural decorations, while the intense colour of the palette derives from his teacher Laurens.
Martin's composition shares Camille Pissarro's fascination with repetition, as a metaphor for community in a beautiful landscape. Indeed, the present composition relates closely to Pissarro's Hay Harvest at Eragny, 1901 (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa). Certainly influenced by Pissarro, Martin adopted pointillist technique to create a synthesis of both the separate application of pure colour with the blended brushwork of the Impressionists.
Martin expressed through the present painting his artistic evolution
away from Impressionism: 'Les faucheurs sont, techniquement, ce que l'impressionnisme n'a pas fait, et ce que je suis nullement sûr qu'il eût fait si on lui eût confié des surfaces murales...L'oeil, l'esprit et le coeur sont également satisfaits parce qu'un être qui était un coloriste, un poète et un homme a médité, jugé, cherché.' (see Les tableaux multiples du Moyen-Age à nos jours, Paris, 1990, p. 138)
Sold with a photo certificate from Cyrille Martin, dated Paris, le 3 mai 1997.
bucolic life. (John House, The Legacy of Impressionism in
France,Post-Impressionism, London, 1979, p.127)
Due to the artist's early success at the Salons, Martin was the recepient of several state commissioned projects, including the most celebrated triptych for the Capitole of Toulouse in 1903. This was a monumental composition by Henri Martin, often described as "Spring, Summer and Autumn" or simply Les faucheurs. On the triptych the central panel measures 600 x 900cm. (272 x 408½in.).
The present painting, Les faucheurs, is the final preparatory oil
for the centerpiece of the Toulouse triptych. The planar composition
indicates the influence of Puvis de Chavannes' mural decorations, while the intense colour of the palette derives from his teacher Laurens.
Martin's composition shares Camille Pissarro's fascination with repetition, as a metaphor for community in a beautiful landscape. Indeed, the present composition relates closely to Pissarro's Hay Harvest at Eragny, 1901 (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa). Certainly influenced by Pissarro, Martin adopted pointillist technique to create a synthesis of both the separate application of pure colour with the blended brushwork of the Impressionists.
Martin expressed through the present painting his artistic evolution
away from Impressionism: 'Les faucheurs sont, techniquement, ce que l'impressionnisme n'a pas fait, et ce que je suis nullement sûr qu'il eût fait si on lui eût confié des surfaces murales...L'oeil, l'esprit et le coeur sont également satisfaits parce qu'un être qui était un coloriste, un poète et un homme a médité, jugé, cherché.' (see Les tableaux multiples du Moyen-Age à nos jours, Paris, 1990, p. 138)
Sold with a photo certificate from Cyrille Martin, dated Paris, le 3 mai 1997.