Impressionist Paintings from the Durand-Ruel Collection to be Sold by Sotheby’s in New York Impressionist Paintings from the Durand-Ruel Collection to be Sold by Sotheby’s in New York -- Unseen for More than Half of a Century and Never Before Offered at Auction
Renoir’s still-lives, including Nature Morte aux Pommes et Poires, are some of the most sensually appealing compositions in art history (est. $350/450,000, £200/300,000, €250/350,000). Rendered with the artist’s characteristically soft palette, these compositions capture the aromatic beauty of each succulent piece of fruit. These deceptively simple still-lives, which proved to be wildly popular among clients of Paul Durand-Ruel, revitalized this age-old subject with an Impressionist flair. Camille Pissarro’s sweeping view of Rouen in Le Pont Boieldieu et la Gare d’Orléans, Rouen, Soleil presents one of France’s
most modern cityscapes at the threshold of the twentieth century (est. $2/3 million, £1.2/1.8 million, €1.5/2 million).
Pissarro painted this urban landscape in the summer of 1898, four years after Monet completed his famous series of the façade of the Rouen’s gothic cathedral. This was Pissarro’s fourth trip to the city, and during his three month stay he painted twenty views. The present view, illuminated with the brilliance of sunlight, captures the urban energy that Pissarro must have found so intriguing. Also by Pissarro is Jardin du Louvre, Effet de Neige; painted by the artist during the winter of 1899 when he rented an apartment in Paris and executed a series of views of the Jardin des Tuileries (est.
$1,250,000/1,850,000, £700,000/1 million, €800,000/1.2 million). Having completed a series depicting the Boulevard Montmartre, with its wide thoroughfare pulsating with horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians and other signs of the busy life of the metropolis, Pissarro took pleasure in painting the calmer, greener parts of Paris and in depicting nature within the city. With its fascinating architecture and history, the Jardin des Tuileries captured the imagination of the other Impressionist artists, including Claude Monet who, in 1876, depicted a view from an apartment only a few doors away from
the one Pissarro occupied, at 198 rue de Rivoli. Alfred Sisley’s finest work (est. $1.5/2 million, £900,000/1.2 million, €1/1.5 million). Painted in 1870 during a stay in Argenteuil with Monet shortly after the Franco-Prussian War, the present canvas belongs to a group of works that documents Sisley’s observations of the town and its riverbanks. While sharing a general affinity with Monet’s work of this period, Sisley’s own particular fixations are evident in the subject matter of these paintings – his compositions place a greater emphasis on the serenity of nature and the subtle harmonies of light and color, unlike those of Monet who often chose to highlight riverside activity or industry as symbols of modernity.
La Seine à Argenteuil with its tranquil ambiance and focus on the rural, pre-industrial aspects of river life is typical of
The commune of Sèvres, located just over six miles southwest of central Paris, was the setting of several of Sisley’s landscapes at the height of his involvement with the Impressionist group. The artist moved to Sèvres in 1877 and spent the next three years painting its landmarks, including its bridges, the station house and the well-known porcelain factory. Vue de Sèvres provides a vivid depiction of the landscape’s
