.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
In 1894, Renoir finally married Aline Charigot, his long-time partner. Aline came from Essoyes, a small town in the Champagne region of France, where they had spent the summer of 1894. Under pressure from Aline, Renoir bought a house there in 1895; the first house he had ever owned. Renoir soon felt settled in Essoyes and enjoyed the rural life of the south, producing numerous landscapes of the area.
Ambroise Vollard said, 'Renoir had at Essoyes, the birthplace of his wife, a small house where he would spend the warmest months of the summer. What wonderful memories I have of my time there with him, in this little old country house, with thick walls, surrounded by a flower garden and fruit trees!'
Arsène Alexandre, who wrote the catalogue of the celebrated Canonne Collection in 1930, considered the present painting a particularly fine example. He wrote: "When certain relatively recent exhibitions revealed these landscapes, of the areas around Paris or of the Midi, mostly little known, it made for a lively and engaging surprise. Of these paintings, one could describe the fracture, which is impossible to analyze, and the transposition of nature as among the most striking phenomena of painting. Both of the paintings are perfect, brilliant and suggestive examples of the genre. One is of a clear and brightly lit road and trees with a church in the background. It is L'Entrée du village d'Essoyes which makes one of the most precious places to rest...Few modern paintings give a greater impression of the bright summer sun and its friendly associate and rival, the cool shade" (A. Alexandre, op. cit., p. 67).
Ambroise Vollard said, 'Renoir had at Essoyes, the birthplace of his wife, a small house where he would spend the warmest months of the summer. What wonderful memories I have of my time there with him, in this little old country house, with thick walls, surrounded by a flower garden and fruit trees!'
Arsène Alexandre, who wrote the catalogue of the celebrated Canonne Collection in 1930, considered the present painting a particularly fine example. He wrote: "When certain relatively recent exhibitions revealed these landscapes, of the areas around Paris or of the Midi, mostly little known, it made for a lively and engaging surprise. Of these paintings, one could describe the fracture, which is impossible to analyze, and the transposition of nature as among the most striking phenomena of painting. Both of the paintings are perfect, brilliant and suggestive examples of the genre. One is of a clear and brightly lit road and trees with a church in the background. It is L'Entrée du village d'Essoyes which makes one of the most precious places to rest...Few modern paintings give a greater impression of the bright summer sun and its friendly associate and rival, the cool shade" (A. Alexandre, op. cit., p. 67).