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Lot Essay
Chrysanthmes is one of three bouquets of flowers painted by Monet in 1878, and is the first canvas devoted solely to chrysanthemums. First imported from China in the 18th Century, chrysanthemums were very much in vogue during the 1870s which might have been a commercial consideration for Monet at a time when his finances were low.
Still-lifes appear very early in Monet's oeuvre but he moved away from them as the full impact of Impressionist plein-airism took hold in the early 1870s. In 1876, however, a commission from Ernst Hosched for four decorative panels for his Chteau in Rottembourg, inspired the young artist to revisit the subject, taking as his theme the garden of the chteau and its rich profusion of flowers, a subject already worked on by his fellow Impressionist, Renoir. For Monet, flowers were the very epitome of transience, and his love for them was unmistakable. Indeed, the subject was a constant pursuit, which combined the artist's passion for flowers and his love of painting.
The sister picture of this work is housed in the Muse d'Orsay in Paris (fig. 3) and relates very closely to the present work. Both bouquets are set against the same blue flowered wallpaper, the flowers are placed in similarly exotic vases or baskets with a raffeta cloth decoration around them and both bouquets are set slightly off centre. Moreover, a very similar technique to create a sense of depth and perspective is used in both pictures: the Orsay picture uses a band of the same raffeta whilst the present work employs a small spray of flowers to act as the repoussoir.
The Orsay canvas was acquired by Dr. Gachet (fig. 2) soon after its completion in December 1878 for a modest FF 50, a sum which Monet needed to pay off some debts. It remained in the family until 1951, when Paul Gachet fils donated it to the Muse d'Orsay in memory of his father. The artist Mose Dreyfus (fig. 1), through the intermediary of his friend Mary Cassatt, first acquired our Chrysanthmes for his private collection, presumably soon after the work was finished. The work was never exhibited to the public and remained in the family until its sale in 1987.
The present work and the Orsay picture are precursors to the somewhat larger work of the same title (W. 634), originally purchased by the great collectors Louisine and H.O. Havemeyer, and housed today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Still-lifes appear very early in Monet's oeuvre but he moved away from them as the full impact of Impressionist plein-airism took hold in the early 1870s. In 1876, however, a commission from Ernst Hosched for four decorative panels for his Chteau in Rottembourg, inspired the young artist to revisit the subject, taking as his theme the garden of the chteau and its rich profusion of flowers, a subject already worked on by his fellow Impressionist, Renoir. For Monet, flowers were the very epitome of transience, and his love for them was unmistakable. Indeed, the subject was a constant pursuit, which combined the artist's passion for flowers and his love of painting.
The sister picture of this work is housed in the Muse d'Orsay in Paris (fig. 3) and relates very closely to the present work. Both bouquets are set against the same blue flowered wallpaper, the flowers are placed in similarly exotic vases or baskets with a raffeta cloth decoration around them and both bouquets are set slightly off centre. Moreover, a very similar technique to create a sense of depth and perspective is used in both pictures: the Orsay picture uses a band of the same raffeta whilst the present work employs a small spray of flowers to act as the repoussoir.
The Orsay canvas was acquired by Dr. Gachet (fig. 2) soon after its completion in December 1878 for a modest FF 50, a sum which Monet needed to pay off some debts. It remained in the family until 1951, when Paul Gachet fils donated it to the Muse d'Orsay in memory of his father. The artist Mose Dreyfus (fig. 1), through the intermediary of his friend Mary Cassatt, first acquired our Chrysanthmes for his private collection, presumably soon after the work was finished. The work was never exhibited to the public and remained in the family until its sale in 1987.
The present work and the Orsay picture are precursors to the somewhat larger work of the same title (W. 634), originally purchased by the great collectors Louisine and H.O. Havemeyer, and housed today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.