A masterful French Impressionist oil showing a beautiful woman in a sari and metal bracelets, standing and praying at the steps of the Ganges. Another woman can be seen washing cloth in the waters to her right. The artist's use of earthy tones adds a richness to this beautiful scene. The painting shows the artist to be confident with the deft brushstrokes of the impressionist era and uses wonderful economy to capture the beauty of the woman's face.
The artist has signed in the lower left corner. At the reverse of the canvas there are several canvas stamps. The first is an airport stamp in Hindi, dated 1893. This is in keeping with the stamp on the stretchers from Lefranc et Cie, a Parisian art supply company founded in 1773. This particular design, featuring a shield contained within a circle, was registered and in use by them only from 1880. A third stamp "10 F" was also used by Lefranc et Cie to denote standard canvas size "20" and "F" to show the "Figure (portrait)" orientation of the canvas.
Given the dates of the canvas stamps, the style and signature of the artist, Sulis Fine Art confidently attributes this painting to the French Impressionist artist, Albert André, and given the date of the canvas stamp at the reverse, can attribute this painting to be dated 1893 or shortly before. This was the year before his break out show where he was noticed by and befriended Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and rapidly gained artistic notoriety amongst his peers.
On canvas.The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. There are several small repairs to the canvas at the reverse which have been fully restored at the front. There are several very small areas of restoration visible under UV light. There is general wear to the paint at the edges of the canvas, typical for its age. The canvas has been secured to the stretchers with modern staples, yet the original nails remain intact also.
57 x 47cm (22.4" x 18.5")
Born in Lyon, he initially trained there designing patterns for silk. In 1889 he moved to Paris to enroll at the Académie Julian. There he met Paul Ranson, Louis Valtat, and Georges d'Espagnat. He also associated with the group known as Les Nabis which included Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, Vallotton, Marquet and Signac.
In 1894, he exhibited five paintings at the Salon des Indépendants where he caught the eye of Renoir. Despite their age difference, a solid friendship united them until Renoir's death in 1919, providing André with guidance in his career. Through Renoir's art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, André was able to sell many of his paintings in the United States through the Durand-Ruel Galleries. Between 1895 and 1901, he exhibited at the Salon des Cent, the Salon des Indépendants, the Exposition d'Art Nouveau, the Salon d'Automne, and, in 1904, at the Salon de la Libre Esthétique in Brussels. In 1912, Durand-Ruel enabled André to exhibit his work in New York City and in 1913, he was selected to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Libre Esthétique in Brussels, showcasing works on a theme of southern France. He would later showcase his works many times in New York City, as in 1930.
Demobilized from World War I in 1917, he moved to Marseille and then to the village of Laudun in the Gard, where he had been on vacation since his childhood as his family owned a house there together with a small vineyard. He became curator of the art museum of Bagnols-sur-Cèze, where he remained until his death. In 1919, he produced a monograph, "Renoir", considered to be "one of the most accurate contemporary accounts of the artist's work", and in 1921, he organized a retrospective of Renoir's work at the Durand-Ruel Gallery. He was also very close to the art critic George Besson, a friend since 1910. In 1971, Besson decided to offer his art collection to the nation, bequeathing to the museums of Besançon and Bagnols-sur-Cèze, where the museum is now called Musée Albert-André.
André died on 11 July 1954 at 85 years old, shortly before his works were due to be showcased at the Avignon Museum. After his death, in 1955, the Salon d’Automne organized a retrospective of his works. Today many of his paintings are to be found in major world museums such as the Modern Art Museum of New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, museums in Philadelphia and Washington DC, Paris Musée d'Orsay, the Galerie Rienzo, and the
| SKU | px607 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Attrib. Albert André (1869-1954) |
| Date | 1893 |
| Dimensions | 57 x 47cm |
| Medium | Oil |
| Style | Impressionism |
| Subject | Portrait |
| Item Returns | This item can be returned |
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