Lot Essay
RELATED LITERATURE:
H.T. Tuckerman, Book of the Artists, New York, 1867, p. 563-564
K. E. Manthorne, Tropical Renaissance: North American Artists Exploring Latin America, 1839-1879, Washington, D.C., 1989, pp. 133-144 J.W. Coffey and K.E. Manthorne, "Louis Remy Mignot, Rediscovered", American Art Review, vol. V, no. 5, Fall 1993, pp. 92-93, 159
In the late 1850s Mignot was exhibiting widely and was already receiving much acclaim. His talent impressed Frederic E. Church who was celebrated then, as he is now, as one of the most important painters of the period. Church, anxious to revisit the tropical landscapes he so admired, invited Mignot to accompany him on his 1857 voyage to South America.
It was this trip, according to a contemporary critic, that gave rise to true genius in Mignot's work: "the really distinctive quality of (Mignot's) genius appears to us to have been developed by his visit to South America" (Pictures by the Late L.R. Mignot, "The Builder", June 24, 1876, vol. 34, p. 607). As easily as Mignot could have been influenced by Church's own style of "geological, botanical, and meteorological accuracy in depicting nature," John W. Coffey and Katherine E. Manthorne point out that this was not the case: "Whereas Church focused his attention almost exclusively on the awesome scenery of the highlands, Mignot equally preferred the steamy voluptuousness of the river and coastal jungles. His pictures are often more intimate than those of Church, and the prevailing mood less ecstatic, closer to reverie."(Coffey and Manthorne, p. 93)
This painting relates closely to a well known Mignot engraving "Evening in the Tropics", for which On the River, Mr. Coffey suggests, was likely the inspirational source.
This painting is included in the research project being compiled by John W. Coffey and Katherine E. Mathorne for the North Carolina Museum of Art. A letter from Mr. Coffey discussing the painting accompanies the lot.
H.T. Tuckerman, Book of the Artists, New York, 1867, p. 563-564
K. E. Manthorne, Tropical Renaissance: North American Artists Exploring Latin America, 1839-1879, Washington, D.C., 1989, pp. 133-144 J.W. Coffey and K.E. Manthorne, "Louis Remy Mignot, Rediscovered", American Art Review, vol. V, no. 5, Fall 1993, pp. 92-93, 159
In the late 1850s Mignot was exhibiting widely and was already receiving much acclaim. His talent impressed Frederic E. Church who was celebrated then, as he is now, as one of the most important painters of the period. Church, anxious to revisit the tropical landscapes he so admired, invited Mignot to accompany him on his 1857 voyage to South America.
It was this trip, according to a contemporary critic, that gave rise to true genius in Mignot's work: "the really distinctive quality of (Mignot's) genius appears to us to have been developed by his visit to South America" (Pictures by the Late L.R. Mignot, "The Builder", June 24, 1876, vol. 34, p. 607). As easily as Mignot could have been influenced by Church's own style of "geological, botanical, and meteorological accuracy in depicting nature," John W. Coffey and Katherine E. Manthorne point out that this was not the case: "Whereas Church focused his attention almost exclusively on the awesome scenery of the highlands, Mignot equally preferred the steamy voluptuousness of the river and coastal jungles. His pictures are often more intimate than those of Church, and the prevailing mood less ecstatic, closer to reverie."(Coffey and Manthorne, p. 93)
This painting relates closely to a well known Mignot engraving "Evening in the Tropics", for which On the River, Mr. Coffey suggests, was likely the inspirational source.
This painting is included in the research project being compiled by John W. Coffey and Katherine E. Mathorne for the North Carolina Museum of Art. A letter from Mr. Coffey discussing the painting accompanies the lot.