Pierre-Etienne-Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867)

L'allée de châtaigniers

Details

Pierre-Etienne-Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867)
L'allée de châtaigniers
black lead, pen and brown ink, brown wash heightened with white on light brown paper, arched
14 x 7½ in. (357 x 189 mm.)

Provenance

The artist's studio stamp (L. 2436).
Possibly Moreau-Nélaton.
Anon. sale; Paris, 22 June 1990, lot 70.

Literature

M. Schulman et al., Théodore Rousseau, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre graphique, Paris, 1997, no. 190 (wrong width in the catalogue).

Lot Essay

This is the earliest study for L'allée de châtaigniers, one of Rousseau's most celebrated compositions, now in the Louvre (M. Schulman et al., Théodore Rousseau, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1999, no. 191). The picture was begun in 1837 and only finished three years later. It was bought in 1842 by Paul Casimir-Périer. Two other drawings for the composition are in the Louvre and in a private collection (M. Schulman, op. cit., 1997, nos. 191-2. The present drawing shows a simpler arrangement of the finished composition, before the addition of figures.

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