Estimated Price:

   £   

Realised Price:

   £   

What is this symbol? This symbol indicates that this auction hose has verified this price result.

Log in or subscribe to view price data

signed L. Lhermitte (lower right)

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

Boussod, Valadon et Cie., Paris, 1913
Arthur Tooth & Sons, Ltd., London, 1913
James Reid, Ayr, Scotland
Sale, Sotheby's, New York, February 16, 1994, lot 48, illustrated
Sale, Christie's, New York, May 22, 1997, lot 246, illustrated

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

Monique Le Pelley Fonteny, Léon Augustin Lhermitte Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 1991, no. 222, p. 147 (for another version)
CATALOGUE NOTE

This work comes from a series of autumnal scenes the artist painted circa 1913 near Calais. These harvesters are resting from their work at the Ferme de Sombre at Wissant.

Lhermitte imbues his peasant-filled landscapes with humanity, as seen in this tender portrait of a mother and child with three men, all resting near dusk. The mother holds her sleeping baby in one arm, while speaking with the worker who has casually slung an enormous scythe, the implement of their days' work, over his strong shoulder. One man sleeps, personifying the exhaustion they all must feel, while another mends his jacket, which also shows the strain of the long day in the fields.

The artist's use of real people for models lends a sense of veracity to the views he depicted throughout his life. Lhermitte executed numerous plein air compositions in charcoal and pastel (see lots 181 - 184), becoming adept in all three media, thereby following the example of Jean François Millet, who was his major influence. Lhermitte's unique ability to capture seemingly real moments of rustic life was admired by many, including Vincent Van Gogh, who in particular praised his fine modeling of the rural and hard working people he made his subjects.