HENRI LE SIDANER (1862-1939) - La rue au clair de lune, Villefranche-sur-Mer Signed [...]

HENRI LE SIDANER (1862-1939)La rue au clair de lune, Villefranche-sur-MerSigned ‘Le Sidaner’ (lower left)Oil on board40,6 x 26,8 cmExecuted in 1925Provenance:Louis Le Sidaner, the artist’s son from whompurchased by Maurice Sternberg Galleries, ChicagoPurchased from the above by present ownerChristie’s aucitonPrivate European CollectionLiterature:Y. Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, L’oeuvre-peintet grave, Paris, 1989, no 1194 (illustrated p.374) Painted in 1915, La rue au claire de lune,Villefranche-sur-Mer (1915) is a picturesque workof French post-impressionist artist Henri-EugèneLe Sidaner (1862-1939). This painter spent a lot oftime in Villefranche-sur-mer, first in 1910 and thenon several occasions between 1924 and 1928, stayingat the Welcome Hotel. Seduced by Villefranche-sur-Mer, Le Sidaner created a series of paintings inspiredby the tranquillity of this idyllic town of the Côted’Azur. La rue au claire de lune, Villefranche-sur-Mer and the rest of the series were painted during hisintimist period, when the artist played with light intribute of the French countryside.Born in Mauritius, he studied in Paris, where hediscovered impressionism and symbolism, the artmovements that played a big role in his gloriousphase of landscape painting. In the early 20’s, heabandoned human figures to throw himself into aneo-impressionist technique that merged togethersweet tones and mysterious atmospheres, where thecentral theme were all kinds of light plays, especiallyon water. When asked which artistic movement heidentified himself with, he simply answered “None.But if you absolutely insist on categorizing me, I aman Intimist.»Prix de départ : 15000