Henri Laurens

Henri MARTIN (1860-1943). Lisette sewing in Marquayrol's garden. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. 82 x 82 cm. Provenance: by family tradition, acquired directly from the artist by an ancestor of the current owner. Collection de la Loire. This painting will be included in the catalog raisonné currently being compiled by Marie-Anne Destrebecq-Martin. Born in Toulouse in 1860, Henri Martin initially trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in his native city. A scholarship enabled him to join the studio of painter Jean-Paul Laurens in Paris. He made a name for himself at the Salon in 1880, winning a distinction in 1883. His talent gave him the opportunity to travel to Italy in 1885. On this trip, he discovered the Florentine Primitives, but above all the atmosphere of Italy, whose light bathed the paintings of the Macchaioli, the genre painters marked by the Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist upheavals. Henri Martin was thus at the crossroads of various influences that permeated his art: his subject matter was close to the allegorical and decorative painting of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and to Symbolism, while his style benefited from the dual lessons of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, and his subjects bore the aspirations of Naturalism. This aesthetic fusion takes place from 1900 onwards, and finds its most striking application in the triptych of Les Faucheurs, created in 1903 for the Capitole de Toulouse. Our painting is emblematic of this period, marked by the artist's purchase in 1900 of the manor house at Labastide-du-Vert in the Lot region, echoes of which can be found in La Jeune fille assise, avant 1904 (oil on canvas, 96.5 x 56.3 cm, Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, no. inv. 907.19.165) or Jeune femme, before 1904 (oil on canvas, 66 x 52 cm, Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, no. 907.19.164) or even more in Les Tricoteuses or La Pergola, 1913 (oil on canvas, 1913, in Musée d'arts de Nantes, Dépôt musée d'Orsay, no. LUX 1346). Henri Martin moved to the Lot every year from May to November. Here he rediscovers the atmosphere and light of the Midi. It was a place that nourished his creative work. He paints the surrounding nature, the activities that take place there or the family tranquility of this house. In fact, this is the subject of this painting: in the foreground, a woman seated in profile on an armchair is busy with her meticulous work under the delicate shade of the garden. She tilts her head slightly, bent over her sewing in the bucolic setting of this spring garden. This work shows the full maturity of Henri Martin's technique, which embraces the Divisionist technique in a very personal way. Here, the technique is no longer a juxtaposition of tones, but a superimposition of touches modulated according to the painted motifs, in the service of light, its nuances and variations that build relief. Thus, the long vertical or diagonal strokes of the dress are combined with the almost pointillist strokes of the hair and face, or the abundant vegetation. These variations in brushstrokes are arranged in a skilfully ordered composition, underscored by the modernity of the square format. Henri Martin's canvas is structured around a general organization that draws the eye to Lisette's hands. The strong lines of the seat support the composition and counterbalance the curved lines of the back. In choosing this square format, Henri Martin is at one and the same time following in the footsteps of painters such as Paul Sérusier (Libations, Cinq figures dans une forêt mythique, 1912 oil on canvas, 148 x 148 cm). By varying the brushstrokes, often superimposed, Henri Martin succeeds in blending the contours and transcribing the tonal nuances created by the delicate light filtering through the foliage. The peaceful atmosphere that reigns in this subject gives this female figure at work a new dimension, almost meditative and certainly decorative. Henri Martin achieves perfect mastery in these naturalistic subjects, in this case the sewing work of Lisette, a maid in his Labastide-du-Vert house, praised by critics in similar paintings: "This year at least, in this Salon (Salon des Artistes Français), M. Henri Martin is the only painter who deserves the name of decorator. His vast panel depicts two young women seated in green armchairs, quietly sewing in a southern countryside setting [...]. [...] That's all. And it's big. This painting suggests an impression of family tranquility, peaceful living and quiet happiness in a magnificent natural setting, simplified enough to deve