Trinity House R e f N o . 16 9 4
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Henri Lebasque (1865 – 1937)
Hélène et Marthe au bord de la Seine Oil on canvas 29 x 39.5 inches • 73.75 x 100.25 centimetres Signed lower left Provenance:
Galerie Anne Abels, Cologne; Private collection, United Kingdom
Literature:
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Denise Bazetoux; This painting will be featured in the forthcoming Volume II of the Henri Lebasque catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Denise Bazetoux. Henri Lebasque painted his two daughters, Hélène and Marthe, throughout their lives from when they were tiny toddlers to when they became lovely mademoiselles. While the canvas here includes a monumental landscape moving with great colour and strong draftsmanship, the prime position and centre of attention are the two young ladies sitting by the water, reflected in its surface and enjoying the lovely sunlit day. Henri Lebasque’s work, characteristically possesing an imposing architectural quality, is softened by the two figures painted on the riverbank. The image itself references the compositional ideas of Japanese woodblock prints in its clean colours and the division of space within the composition, particularly the high horizon.
For the artist biography, see page 117
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