catalog text
LÉON RICHET
French, 1847-1907
Gathering Wood at Sunset
Oil on canvas | signed lower left "Leon Richet" | earliest label retained verso for Galerie Bernheim Jeune & Fils, Paris, 1903, no. 13395 | further provenance labels to the reverse, including its sale at Sotheby's New York and holdings at Galerie Michael of Beverly Hills, CA
Item # 401TJG29C
A luminescent work that captures golden hour along a quiet stream, only the last remnants of daylight cast blues and whites across the foreground of the sky while the dominant hues of warm light cast long shadows along the grassy bank. A lone figure walks through the trees gathering wood for her evening fire. Masterfully executed with a wild and aggitated brushwork, the canvas is alive with layer after layer of intricate color building up a loosely impressionistic view of the tranquil countryside.
The work is signed in the lower left by Léon Richet and retains the original label from Galerie Bernheim Jeune & Fils of Paris, apparently dated from 1903. This was just two years after the gallery organized their first show for Vincent Van Gogh at the 8, Rue Laffitte gallery. The label notes it as no. 13395 and an additional label affixed to the same stretcher bar reads the same. A label of roughly the same date notes it as no. 880.
An extraordinarily fine example of Richet's work.
LÉON RICHET (FRENCH, 1847-1907)
Born in Solesmes, France in 1847 (generally accepted as 15 April, some texts reference 1843 as his possible birth year), Richet studied under Ambroise Détrez at Valenciennes Academy before becoming a pupil of Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1807-1876) and later studying under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre in Paris; Richet collaborated with Lefebvre on several paintings, with the figures being contributed by Lefebvre and Richet handling the landscapes.
Diaz would be most influential on his career both as a tutor and mentor, as is evident in the close thematic and stylistic parallels found in their work. But it is Lefebvre's influence on Richet's ability to capture light, the reflections on water and a general openness in his landscapes that set his work apart from the often shadowy and atmospheric works of his contemporaries. He introduced Richet to the Barbizon School, a group of like-minded artists working in Barbizon, France and in the Forest of Fontainebleau with an avante-garde view of the landscape.
The traditionally acceptable way of capturing landscape was an over-idealized framework for historical storytelling, the landscape being a secondary element for the larger story of the painting that is often devoid of honesty and chaos; the Barbizon School sought to rebel against this notion, their efforts aimed at attempting to capture nature and life exactly as it exists without romance or idealization.
The school was active from 1830 through around 1870 and featured such luminaries as Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Jean-Francois Millet and Theodore Rousseau, an artist who inspired Richet considerably.
Richet featured at the Paris Salon and then at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Franćais starting in 1869 and he continued to exhibit regularly through 1906. He was awarded an honourable mention in 1885, a second class medal in 1888 and another second class medal in 1901.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, vol. XI, Gründ, 2006, p. 1010-1011
- The Barbizon School and 19th-Century French Landscape Painting, Bouret, 1973, p. 256
Provenance:
- Original label from Galerie Bernheim Jeune & Fils of 1903, no. 13395
- With Galerie Michael, Beverly Hills, CA, certificate of authenticity retained verso from gallery
- Sotheby's, New York, Arcade Fine Arts: Old Master to Contemporary, 29 June 2004, Sale N01743, lot 64
Measurements: 36 5/8" H x 48" W x 3 7/8" D [frame]; 25 1/4" H x 36 3/8" W
Condition Report:
Surface cleaned in the last twenty years - examined by our conservator and present varnish layer is perfectly clear and intact, no conservation required; very minor inpainting present under UV examination (see shots); stretcher impressions down the center of the canvas, light craqueulure throughout. A very fine giltwood frame, probably not the first frame; this has been regilded in several areas and shows evidence of touchups/mica powder restorations; there are several areas of loss to the gilding revealing the underlying gesso. A very fine presentation, ready to place.