Joseph Milne

Boats at Harbour - Scottish art Victorian Impressionist oil painting seascape

circa 1900

This superb French 19th century oil painting, La Source, location previously unknown according to the Jean Jacques Henner Catalogue Raisonee, is a fantastic art historical re-discovery. It is by noted artist Jean Jacques Henner, a French painter, Henner was noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits. La Source, or Spring, is a magnificent, very large French Romantic oil painting depicting a subject for which Henner became famous. Painted in 1881 it was exhibited at the Paris Salon that year. The sitter is Dorothy Tenant (1855-1926) or Dolly, an English art pupil of Henner’s and also his model. (See her biography below). La Source is a painting of a beautiful young woman, Dolly, unclothed, with long auburn hair sat on the edge of a pool in a landscape. Her serene face and body are almost glowing against the darker landscape, all enhanced by the sfumato and chiaroscuro technique. Beyond is a patch of startling blue sky, reflected in the pool at her feet. The rough brush work in the flora and fauna around her, a precursor to French Impressionism, contrasts with the smoothness of her skin. A really stunning painting with excellent provenance. This painting is in the Henner Musee National catalogue raisonne by Isabelle de Lannoy, noted as location unknown and exhibited at the Salon in 1881. Also noted in the catalogue raisonne are two studies for La Source identifying the sitter as Dolly Tennant. One of the images is also shown on the front cover. Signed lower right. Provenance. Exhibited Paris Salon 1881 entitled La Source. Catalogue Raisonne, for National Museum of Jean Jacques Henner, France, p174. La Source, Salon 1881, location unknown. Plus study of Dolly Tennant for La Source and another study for La Source. . The New York Market for French Art in the Gilded Age, 1867-1893 by Dr Leanne Zalewski, published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022, page 39, La Source image 3.3. Formerly in the collection of Mary Jane Morgan (see below). Aitken Dott - The Scottish Gallery ref R9101. Sotheby sale 30th Dec 1985. Thomas Agnews and Sons. Condition. Oil on canvas, image size 35 inches by 27 inches and in good condition. Has been relined and had restoration during its life time. Housed in a fine frame, 45 inches by 37 inches, in good condition. Jean-Jacques Henner (15 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits. Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his studies in art as a pupil of Michel Martin Drolling and François-Édouard Picot. In 1848, he entered the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, and took the Prix de Rome with a painting of Adam and Eve finding the Body of Abel in 1858. In Rome, he was guided by Flandrin, and painted four pictures for the gallery at Colmar among other works. He first exhibited Bather Asleep at the Salon in 1863 and subsequently contributed Chaste Susanna (1865), now in the Musée d'Orsay. Other noted works include: Byblis turned into a Spring (1867); The Magdalene (1878); Portrait of M. Hayem (1878); Christ Entombed (1879); Saint Jerome (1881); Herodias (1887); A Study (1891); Christ in His Shroud and a Portrait of Carolus-Duran (1896); a Portrait of Mlle Fouquier (1897); and The Dream (1900).The Levite of the Tribe of Ephraim (1898) was awarded a first-class medal. Among other professional distinctions, Henner also took a Grand Prix for painting at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1873, Officer in 1878, and Commander in 1889. In 1889, he succeeded Cabanel in the Institut de France. Henner's most widely known work is his 1885 portrait of Saint Fabiola. Although the original is now lost, it was copied by artists around the world for devotional purposes. Artist Francis Alÿs has collected over 500 copies of the portrait in a variety of media. The collection, known as the "Fabiola Project," is on exhibit at the Byzantine Fresco Chapel of the Menil Collection in Houston from May 21, 2016 - May 13, 2018. Henner had numerous pupils; among them were the American painter Mathilde Mueden Leisenring and the Romanian artist Dimitrie Serafim. From 1874 to 1889, organized with Carolus-Duran, what he called "the studio of the ladies" for women were not allowed entry to the École des Beaux-Arts. Some also served as his models. One of these was Dorothy Tennant who later married Henry Morton Stanley. Henner died at age 76 in Paris. SITTER BIOGRAPHY Dorothy Tennant (22 March 1855 – 5 October 1926) was an English painter of the Victorian era neoclassicism. She was married to the explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Tennant was born in Russell...

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