Sale: 455 / Art of the 19th Century, Nov. 24. 2017 in Munich Lot 38

 

38
Julien Dupré
La Fenaison (Die Heuernte), Ca. 1890-1895.
Oil on canvas
Estimate:
€ 30,000 / $ 32,400
Sold:
€ 55,000 / $ 59,400

(incl. surcharge)
La Fenaison (Die Heuernte). Ca. 1890 -1895.
Oil on canvas , doubled.
Lower right signed. 46 x 61.5 cm (18.1 x 24.2 in) . [CB].

This painting has been authenticated by Howard L. Rehs & Professor Janet Whitmore from photographs and will be included in the catalogue raisonné which will be published by Rehs Galleries, Inc.; A photo-certificate accompanies this work.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Southern Germany.

EXHIBITION: Internationale Kunst-Ausstellung Berlin 1896, cat. no. 553, incl. black-and-white illu. (verso with the label).

"La Faneuse, a painting by Julien Dupré, […] that reflects all of the young artist's qualities [.]. He is an excellent painter of rural life, he doubtlessly was fond of the rustic charm, as he knew how to stage it with a great love for the detail, however, without any notions of Mannersiam and Naturalism, which allowed him to produce the most pleasant works, becasue reality is much more beautiful than one would think."
Lucien Huard, Livre d‘or de l‘Exposition 1889 (vol. 1), Paris 1889, p. 18.

The hay harvest- or "La Fenaison" - is one of Julien Dupré’s best-known and most popular motifs. In the early 1890s he made several variants of the young farm girl turning the hay or loading a cart. When observing these variants at a forced rate they almost appear like continuously shot photographs: No illustration is like the other, Dupré always captures a different moment of the repetitive motion of turning the hay. Unlike it is the case with his role modelJean-Francois Millet, Dupre did not put the arduous farm labor in the focus of his paintings. The young farm girl on the sun-filled field seems jaunty, the glistening hay reflects the sunlight and creates an impression of easiness. Solely the turned-up sleeves and the strong body that jams the pitchfork into the stack of hay suggest the labor‘s physical effort.



38
Julien Dupré
La Fenaison (Die Heuernte), Ca. 1890-1895.
Oil on canvas
Estimate:
€ 30,000 / $ 32,400
Sold:
€ 55,000 / $ 59,400

(incl. surcharge)