30 - Stanislas LEPINE (1835–1892)

Stanislas LEPINE (1835–1892) The Seine at Charenton Oil on canvas 21 x 56.5 cm Signed “S. Lépine” lower right Provenance: Public auction at the Palais Galliera in Paris on March 29, 1962, Lot No. 83. Drouot Montaigne, November 24, 1988, Lot No. 30 bis. French private collection. The work is listed and reproduced on page 150 under No. 358 by Robert and Marcel Schmit, published by Galerie Schmit, Paris, in their catalog raisonné of the artist’s work. Stanislas Lépine’s paintings are primarily views of the landscapes surrounding Paris, as exemplified by this canvas depicting the banks of the Seine in Charenton. The location and vantage point chosen for this painting were the subject of several studies by Lépine. Notably, the painting held at the Musée d’Orsay is a prime example. Riverbanks are indeed one of his favorite subjects. In the work we are presenting, the setting is firmly established, bounded by the riverbanks and houses on both sides, thus emphasizing the horizontal composition of the painting, punctuated by a few vertical elements that draw the eye toward the distance—a sail, the Panthéon on the horizon. The human figure is discreet but present; the primary focus is the harmony of the landscape bathed in radiant light, conveyed through a palette lighter than that of the Barbizon painters, which brings him closer to the artistic explorations of the Impressionists.