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Dimensions: measurements 32 by 42 3/4 in. alternate measurements 80 by 110 cm
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Provenance: Private Collection, France
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Notes: The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by Cyrille Martin.
After searching for the ideal house for almost ten years, Martin finally acquired Marquayrol in 1900, a beautiful mansion overlooking Labastide-du-Vert, near Cahors, in southwest France. The house and the region became his main sources of inspiration and deeply influenced his style. It was here that the artist found the important southern light denied him in Paris which stimulated and fulfilled his artistic needs. Claude Juskiewenski has suggested that "This move to the Lot at the age of 40 marks a decisive turning point in his artistic output. Muses and lyres disappear from his canvases and he dares to confront daily the light of the south" (C. Juskiewenski, Henri Martin 1860-1943 (exhibition catalogue), Cahors & Toulouse, 1993, p. 98). Jac Martin-Ferrières writes, "Henri Martin was without doubt an Impressionist and one who had the deepest sensitivity, certainly equal to that of Monet, whom he most admired. Owing to their utmost sensitivity and not through research, or a technical process, their interpretation of nature is certainly a poetical evocation hued by a thousand colours which can undoubtedly be called a work of art. ... [His] palette is an enchantment. Many different interminglings of colours make a rare and rich harmony... And it is much more difficult to find a good harmony of colours when representing nature than to assemble some nice colours representing nothing. Herein lies the gift of the Impressionists and that is why there are so few" (Jac Martin-Ferrières, Henri Martin, Paris, 1967, pp. 35-42).
The present work, painted circa 1910, is a particularly fine example of Martin's mature style. The famous pergola, with its abundant foliage, provides the focus of the composition. The house is set high on the hill above the village of Labastide-du-Vert, situated here to the right. The rich colors in this painting betray all the intensity of the southern light that Martin so longed for in his work. Judging by the direction of the long shadows, and the color of the vegetation, this scene undoubtedly takes place in the afternoon at summer's end. Fig. 1 Marquayrol, Henri Martin (seatedat right) with family and friends
