Saturday 9 March 2024

Pont Neuf

 Le Pont Neuf (Paris)


The location is a well known, iconic and famous one: the oldest stone bridges of Paris connecting the western tip Isle-de-la-Cité (square Vert-Galant) with 2 sets of arches with the North and South banks of River Seine. Although there are 4 possible location of this perspective, seeing both Pont du Carrousel and Pont des Arts on the horizon,  below the arch, it is most likely this location:


Besides the fisherman, a mysterious tramrails (of which no examples of this structure in other copies of art or photograph could be found), some beached small vessels and the outline of a Bateau Lavoir (lower right) is visible. 
Although many artist impressions (paintings, etchings etc) of the Pont Neuf can be found the passage on quay level is not found very often.  First of all the Armington artist etching couple (Frank & Caroline) who frequented this particular site, came to mind but the signature tells different ! 
Maybe an interested reader or specialist can help reading the signature.....

Some nice examples by well and lesser known artists: 

Caroline Armington 

   
Jules de Bruycker 


William Wilson (Scottish)


August Lepère


All help and suggestions to the artist are very welcomed !



Wednesday 28 February 2024

Lill Tschudi: 1944

Sooner than expected the question of attribution was solved by my American collecting friend and print expert Tom Clemens in Boston who's friend Ben Weiss, curator of Boston Museum of Arts, identified the print by a copy in New-York Metropolitan Museum of Art database in the Garfield collection. 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/835184

Its title, to me and my special collection, is adding an extra layer of interest and emotion to her work: 

"Neue Flüchtlinge kommen ins Lager". 

New, Jewish, refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in 1944, seeking and finding shelter, arriving in Switzerland. It also solves the question which side of the paper is front and besides gives insight in her actual printing technique and her use of materials. 

Unexpectedly it is also of a frightening actuality.  

During WW-II Switzerland sheltered some 300.000 mostly Jewish refugees, but controversially also send many back at its frontiers following the "all life boats are full" principle. A frightening and haunting resemblance and food-for-thought and contemplation to today's (European) migratory problems. 



These photo's borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, non commercial and academic use only. 

Tuesday 27 February 2024

Unknown Lill Tschudi ?

 "Unbekannte" Lill Tschudi ?


Last summer this print popped up in an internet auction. It had stayed unrecognised and unwanted by any impulsive buyer, serious collector or commercial dealer: there's no signature. No signature, no attribution, no interest, no (commercial) value ? 
But then: who needs a signature with something this good ? Finally cataloging last year's collection acquisitions it was suggested (thank you Tom) it might be by the hand of Swiss artist Lill Tschudi (1911-2004) who was trained in London's Slate school and created over 300 often iconic prints. A second example of this print however was not yet found. 

It could be the reverse side is the correct side: both sides are of almost identical quality: the ink/paint through and through the fabric. Maybe another technical clue ? The (to me) illegible and faint (carved) lettering below is reversed in the above version of the picture. 


Looking for clues it seems very likely it is indeed (must be) by her hand: Style, Perspective and Colours are very similar to some (choice) examples found in the Internet.  What she depicted may be an orphanage or convent's dining room (although the women seem to wear no caps or robes of any religious sort). 



Two more of my favourite Lill Tschudi prints (who was a student of Claude Flight in London and Fernand Léger in Paris): "women(!) students in the nude drawing class" and b"athing women". 

Since prints by Lill Tschudi normally would be financially out of reach this may have been the only chance of ever being able to represent this printmaker in my special collection:

www.dashausderfrau.nl

He or she, stumbling over this posting, who knows more: all information is very welcomed. 

All other pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, non commercial and academic use only. 

Thursday 22 February 2024

Fernand Lambert 2: La Laitière

 La Laitière

Recently this large drawing was discovered and rescued after being dismissed by its former owners. I think, as best as I can, the signature may read "Fernand Lambert 1903". But it could also be Fernande (she) and/or Cambier ........  Benezit Lexicon does not give any other serious candidates besides the painter Fernand Lambert (before post) who was born in Lyon but studied and had a career in Paris. 

It is an exact copy of Jean Baptiste Greuze's (1725-1805) painting of "La Laitière" (the milkmaid). The painting is since 1900 officially part of the Louvre collection with its pendant painting "La Cruche Cassée" (the broken pitcher). We know Greuze's wife Anne-Gabrielle modelled for the milkmaid. They later divorced. Both paintings have deeper layers of symbolic meaning (virginity, virtue, status etc..).  


At least 2 engraved versions of "La Laitière" are known: by Greuze's contemporary Jean Charles Levasseur (1734-1816), which is a mirrored version, and a 1901 "Heliogravure" published by Braun Clement & Cie for "Revue de l'Art ancien et moderne". 


My suggestion is this drawing may have been an academic exercise, by Fernand Lambert while studying in Paris under Bougeareau and when the painting was not that long in the Louvre. 
I also think it far too accurate and professional to be created by an amateur. 

Any other suggestions or knowledge concerning the history of this milkmaid is very welcomed. 

PS: Milkmaids were often used as models in paintings because of their fair and unscarred skin: in times of small pocks and tuberculosis many milkmaids had built an immunity to the microbes causing these wide spread and devastating diseases. The fair skin of milkmaids helped clever physicians to understand better the cause and paths of the disease and ultimately leading to the development of vaccines, inoculations, prevention, medication and cure. For which we should be thankful instead of suspicious. 

Wednesday 21 February 2024

Fernand Lambert 1

 Fernand Alexis Lambert (1868-1934/35)

was a not very well known French landscape painter and critic. He was born in Lyon, studied in Paris under Bougereau and is known by half a dozen really nice (post)-impressionist landscapes and river scenes (Rhone in Lyon nd Seine in Paris). He has only a few lines in Benezit, artists lexicon and the pictures of his works are scratched together from the Internet. 




If he is identical with the maker of a drawing after the famous painting "La Laitière" (the milkmaid) by Jean Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) in the Louvre remains to be researched.

See next posting !




  

Monday 29 January 2024

Jaxman or Jarman ?

 Elizabeth Jaxman or ? (....better suggestions)



Charming coloured ink portrait of a reading girl. I have no idea about the artist, Jaxman (what I read) as a family name is highly unlikely. Several other possibilities were tried but so far without result. 

Taken from the frame (it needs a nice fresh matt) scribbled on the back in pencil: 
tel que  ninove
Perhaps a clue leading to Ninove, a city (40.000 inh.) West of (French speaking) Brussels. The portrait was found in the South of the Netherlands, near Belgium. 

All suggestions leading to the identity of the artist are welcomed.
---------------

UPDATE
Febr. 22 2024

The suggestion:
Elisabeth Jarman was welcomed.

So far it has not lead to a candidate for the artist this drawing. 

Sunday 28 January 2024

Lillsjönäsgårt

A stone's throw from Abrahamsberg metro station, we find a remnant of rural Bromma. Nestled in greenery, at the end of a lime tree avenue, is Lillsjönäs farm. A place with traces of the past.

The main building was built in 1834 by master shoemaker Magnus Sohlberg. Today the site is surrounded by dense 20th century buildings. In the 1830s, this was a rural environment at a reasonable distance from the city. There were opportunities for gardening, parties and fishing in nearby Lillsjön. The land was used for cultivation.
Lillsjönäs was a private summer resort until 1908. Then the property played an important role in the expansion of Bromma. By subdividing its own land, Lillsjönäs farm was one of the first to lay the foundations for a villa community. The last private owner, wholesaler P. Kindgren, started one of the country's earliest bus lines to increase the attractiveness of the area. The line ran between Lillsjönäs and Kungsbroplan.
In 1908 the City of Stockholm bought the farm buildings and the rest of the Lillsjönäs plots. An orphanage with an educational institution and a country school was established here. Boys were trained in 'agricultural and horticultural professions' and girls as 'domestic servants'. This educational and support activity was new and untested, and the one at Lillsjönäs was the first in the country. Since the 1940s until 2018, the building has housed various associations and a youth center.
The main building is well preserved and the style is typical of early 19th century ideals. It is a rare example of a summer resort from this period. During a renovation in the 1950s, much of the older furnishings were lost. However, the outdoor environment has been preserved as a rural oasis. Traces can be seen of the 19th century garden structure with a lime tree avenue, orchard and lilac bushes. A few tall deciduous trees stand next to the main building. Probably a remnant of an English park with winding paths, which was popular at the time.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

These two 1952c watercolour impressions, by an unknown artist visiting Lillsjönäsgårt  were recently discovered in a car boot: "the kitchen", with wood burning stove, and "ironing".

All information or suggestions concerning the artist are welcomed.