Lot Essay
By the mid 1890s Cross turned increasingly to more idealist subjects - idyllic scenes of naked or draped women in landscapes or by the sea. He found it difficult at times to reconcile such themes with the anarchist political views which he shared with his Neo-Impressionist colleagues, and explained his position in 1905 to van Rysselberghe: "A long time ago, I discovered my insensitivity to the peasant. I find him here (in the South) especially without plastic interest, and I would not know how to paint him... On the rocks, on the sand of the beaches, nymphs and Naiads appear to me, a whole world born of beautiful light" (Exh. cat., Neo-Impressionism, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1968, p. 47).
The present work was purchased from Galerie Bernheim-Jeune by Henri Canonne, one of the greatest patrons of the arts between the Wars. His collection contained fine examples of the work of artists such as Monet, Czanne, Vuillard and Bonnard (see lots 24 and 30). Besides the present work, in the 1930s Henri Canonne acquired two other paintings by Cross, Femme liant la vigne (C. 24; Private Collection) and Chamouilley (C. 25; Muse National des Beaux-Arts, Algiers).
The present work was purchased from Galerie Bernheim-Jeune by Henri Canonne, one of the greatest patrons of the arts between the Wars. His collection contained fine examples of the work of artists such as Monet, Czanne, Vuillard and Bonnard (see lots 24 and 30). Besides the present work, in the 1930s Henri Canonne acquired two other paintings by Cross, Femme liant la vigne (C. 24; Private Collection) and Chamouilley (C. 25; Muse National des Beaux-Arts, Algiers).