Léon Bonnat (Bayonne 1834-1922 Monchy-Saint-Éloi)

Hélas! Je ne suis pas Van Dyck: two sunflowers in a vase

Details

Léon Bonnat (Bayonne 1834-1922 Monchy-Saint-Éloi)
Hélas! Je ne suis pas Van Dyck: two sunflowers in a vase
signed with initial 'B' and inscribed 'Hélas! Je ne suis pas VAN DYCK'
black chalk, watercolour, laid down on board
25¼ x 19¼ in. (64 x 48.8 cm.)

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Lot Essay

The title of the present drawing is a wry allusion to Van Dyck's famous Self Portrait with a Sunflower (Collection of the Duke of Westminster; Fig. 1). Judging himself unable to compete with the great master, Bonnat - who was one of the greatest collectors of old master drawings of his time - shows only the sunflowers, modestly keeping himself out of the picture.

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