.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present sheet, originating from the artist’s sketchbook no. VIII (folio 27), comprises two distinct portraits on the recto and verso. On the recto, Gabrielle Wenger, née Questroy (1854–1944), the mother of the artist’s future wife Marthe, is depicted seated on the cliffs above Camaret-sur-Mer on the Crozon peninsula, overlooking the sea. Wenger shared with Lacombe a keen interest in music and played an active role in the artist’s circle: she hosted musical soirées at her home in Versailles, which Lacombe frequently attended, and was herself an accomplished pianist. She was also an important patron of the artist, and in 1893 comissioned Lacombe to execute a series of decorative wall paintings for her house. Lacombe returned to capturing her portrait on several occasions, notably in a large pastel portrait now in the Musée Lambinet, Versailles.
The verso presents a more spontaneous study of the Breton sailor Piriou, who assisted Lacombe in sailing 'Le Greska', the boat that Lacombe kept at Camaret. As such, Portrait du marin Piriou can be seen to be related to a group of studies of Piriou and his family, executed circa 1895 and originally part of the same Breton sketchbook, focused on local Breton subjects. While more immediate in execution than the recto, the two portraits compliment one another in their engagement with Lacombe’s Breton milieu, reflecting the artist’s sustained interest in both intimate portraiture and the lived environment of the region.
Several sheets, including the present work, were removed from sketchbook no. VIII in the 1970s, while the remainder of the now unbound album entered the collection of the Louvre in 1983. The present sheet is identifiable as folio 27 by the pencil numbering in the upper right corner. These annotations, along with the studio and estate stamps (Lugt 4390 and 4391), were applied by the artist’s family and Joëlle Ansieau during the division of Georges Lacombe’s estate and the preparation of works for exhibition, including the Shepherd Gallery Associates exhibition of 1974, in which this drawing was included under no. 28.
The verso presents a more spontaneous study of the Breton sailor Piriou, who assisted Lacombe in sailing 'Le Greska', the boat that Lacombe kept at Camaret. As such, Portrait du marin Piriou can be seen to be related to a group of studies of Piriou and his family, executed circa 1895 and originally part of the same Breton sketchbook, focused on local Breton subjects. While more immediate in execution than the recto, the two portraits compliment one another in their engagement with Lacombe’s Breton milieu, reflecting the artist’s sustained interest in both intimate portraiture and the lived environment of the region.
Several sheets, including the present work, were removed from sketchbook no. VIII in the 1970s, while the remainder of the now unbound album entered the collection of the Louvre in 1983. The present sheet is identifiable as folio 27 by the pencil numbering in the upper right corner. These annotations, along with the studio and estate stamps (Lugt 4390 and 4391), were applied by the artist’s family and Joëlle Ansieau during the division of Georges Lacombe’s estate and the preparation of works for exhibition, including the Shepherd Gallery Associates exhibition of 1974, in which this drawing was included under no. 28.