MARIE DIETERLE
French, 1856-1935

Cattle at Rest in a Bucolic Pasture

[canvas] 16 1/8" H x 19 5/8" W
[frame] 24 1/2" H x 3 1/2" D x 28" W

Oil on linen mounted on artist panel, signed Marie Dieterle lower left

A pastoral landscape by Marie Diéterle depicting three cattle resting and standing in a broad pasture with a wagon as well as additional cattle and farm buildings receding along the low horizon. The expansive sky divides the composition almost perfectly in half, the broken clouds allowing passages of clear blue above the sunlit meadow.

Marie Diéterle, known also as Marie Van Marcke de Lummen, was born at Sèvres in 1856 and died in Paris in 1935. She was the daughter and pupil of the prominent animal painter Émile van Marcke and developed her own career principally around landscapes populated by cattle. Her work continued the French tradition of animal and landscape painting associated with her father's generation and with the influence of Constant Troyon.

Condition: Relined on artist panel. Trace remnants of surface grime are visible on close examination. Some overcleaning is present in the clouds, around the wagon, near the legs of the white cow and in several smaller areas throughout. Light craquelure. Areas of inpainting include passages around the wagon between it and the white cow, scattered specks in the sky, along portions of the horizon and reinforcement to some of the blue passages. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals areas of older varnish together with a more recent varnish layer. Frame is of the period, an attractive example. Loss to the curled ornament at the lower left corner cartouche, with other minor losses, discoloration to the gilding and general wear throughout.

ref. 601RRG28S