Guarisco Gallery 2012

Léon Augustin Lhermitte LéonAugustin Lhermitte showed artistic talent at an early age, and in his early training quickly mastered the theories of Adademic painting. During his studies, he became fascinated with the Barbizon painters, namely Corot and Millet. Through their influence, Lhermitte developed a strong technique for rendering physical form by modeling his subjects using a strong chiaroscuro to dramatize the contrast between light and dark. [ Museums: Musée d’Orsay, Paris; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Boston Museum of Fine Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art,Wash., D.C.; Denver Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art, and others.] n a letter to his brother, Theo, written in 1885, Vincent van Gogh praises Lhermitte as “the absolute master of the figure, he does what he likes with it—proceeding neither from the color nor the local tone but rather from the light—as Rembrandt did—there is an astonishing mastery in everything he does.” Léon Augustin Lhermitte French, 1844-1925 At the Fountain in Mont-Saint-Père signed, d. 1895, o/c 24-3/4” x 19” (30” x 24-1/2” fr.) Literature: Fontenay, Léon Augustin Lhermitte (Paris), 1991, p.115 (illus.) 101 I The subject of the dignified peasant was among the most frequently depicted in Lhermitte’s oeuvre. These figures were most often portrayed as robust and hard-working, yet imbued with a quiet serenity. At the Fount a i n i n Mont - Sa i nt -Pé r e is a beautiful example of a young peasant woman executed in a subdued, earth-toned palette that reflects the reality and immediacy of the moment While the young girl gracefully performs her daily chores. She was probably one of Lhermitte's neighbors because he said, "I never invent. All my characters are portraits of someone."