Lot Essay
Painted in 1874 during Courbet's Swiss exile, our painting depicts a sunset over Lac Leman. Courbet has perfectly captured the brief moments after the sun has set behind the horizon, when the lowest clouds are infused with blazing rays of orange. The frothy white caps of the waves as they roll to shore are evoked through Courbet's virtuoso handling of thick, white paint applied with a palette knife. As in so many of Courbet's marine scenes, man's presence is only felt in the two tiny boats which may be seen on the horizon.
Sarah Faunce will include this painting in her forthcoming critical catalogue raisonn of the works of Gustave Courbet that she is preparing. She considers that the painting's date is appropriate for the subject, that the painting is typical of those marine pictures that Courbet was reputed to have completed quickly, and that it is a work that required no assistance beyond a possible first underlayer.
Jean Jacques Fernier has authenticated this painting. He believes the preparation was done by Courbet's Workshop at La Tour de Peilz and that the signature and date are apocryphal. It will be included in his forthcoming supplement to the catalogue raisonn under the category, Works painted by Gustave Courbet.
Sarah Faunce will include this painting in her forthcoming critical catalogue raisonn of the works of Gustave Courbet that she is preparing. She considers that the painting's date is appropriate for the subject, that the painting is typical of those marine pictures that Courbet was reputed to have completed quickly, and that it is a work that required no assistance beyond a possible first underlayer.
Jean Jacques Fernier has authenticated this painting. He believes the preparation was done by Courbet's Workshop at La Tour de Peilz and that the signature and date are apocryphal. It will be included in his forthcoming supplement to the catalogue raisonn under the category, Works painted by Gustave Courbet.