ANTOINE CHINTREUIL (Pont-de-Vaux 1816 - 1873 Seine-et-Oise)
Viaduct in the Bièvre Valley near Versailles
oil on paper mounted to linen. 10 1/2 x 16" (267 x 406mm). inscribed on the stretcher: Viaduc Vallée de la Bièvre près Versailles.
Provenance: Adolphe Stein, Paris.
Peter Galossi thinks the present study is a plein air sketch of the mid-nineteenth century, executed at the close of a long tradition of painting the landscape out-of-doors. He notes the artist's interest in the color and tonality of the mid and far-grounds, and how what was achieved in this regard, could not have been done indoors. He suggests though, that the foreground area, such as the surface of the water, was executed back at the studio.
The well-educated Chintreuil left Pont-de-Vaux at the age of 24 to join the ranks of aspiring artists in Paris. There he was advised by Corot to pursue the art of landscape painting. Though he was not a student of Corot's, Chintreuil has been considered his best disciple. Indeed Corot's influence is evident in the present serene and alluring oil sketch. After ten years of struggle, Chintreuil was admitted to the Salon in 1847. For the next seven years the artist enjoyed a vital and prolific period, working mostly at Igny in the Bièvre Valley. The present work dates from this period. However, ill health required his return to Paris and he then went in 1856 to convalesce in Picardie. His greatest artistic period started in 1857 and he began to enjoy financial success. He died in 1873. The Salon of 1874 exhibited three of his works. A public sale of his paintings in 1875 was a huge success. Emile Zola ranked Chintreuil second only to Corot, Corbet and Daubigny. He also had a considerable influence on Boudin and Jongkind. The Louvre and the museum at Pont-deVaux are particularly rich in his work. Indeed the Louvre conserves at least four small horizontal plein-air sketches comparable to ours.
In the collection of the National Gallery in London, one can find another landscape oil sketch on paper though later than the present work. The NG painting was done towards the end of Chintreuil's life when he had turned his attention to the sea. It is entitled Houses on the Cliffs near Fecamp and is dated to around 1861. One finds however, the same rich and harmonious greens and blues and a comparable technique.