Jean Dubrosse

L. Mundery

Sale: Galerie Campo, 🌜Antwerp, October 5-6, 1965, loꦕt 91

Hirshl & Adler Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above in 1977

Ghent, Casino, Exposition de Gand, Salon de 1892, XXVème Exposition centenaire, 1892, no. 534

New York, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Twenty Years of Post-Impressionism 1880-1900. A Selection of Paintings from the Gallery's Collection, 1977, no. 18, illustrated in the catalogue

Tony Calabrese, George Morren, 1868-1941, Brussels, 2000, no. 15, illustrated in color p. 39 and in black and white p. 212

Good condition. The canvas has an old wax lining, with an inscription and signature that appears to have been transcribed from the original canvas. The composition bears a fine network of craquelure throughout the surface, particularly in the yellows on the left. Under UV light, there are a few spots of retouching to the yellow pigment in the lower left quadrant, and several spots of scattered retouching in the dark-green area of the upper right quadrant. The pigments appear to be fresh and stable, an the canvas is in overall good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The dazzling Le Renouveau by the Belgian painter, sculptor and decorative artist George Morren ranks among the most accomplished works of the Neo-Impressionist movement.  Having trained briefly as a painter in his native Antwerp, Morren moved to Paris in the late 1880s and encountered the divisionist technique of painting that he would soon incorporate into his own work.  By the 1890s, his w🌸ork exemplified the rich possibilities of this innovative method, characterized by tiny, tightly-painted dots of color.  Because he was independently wealthy and did not need to sell his art, Morren never gained the prominence of his compatriot and fellow Neo-Impressionist painter Théo van Rysselberghe.  Nonetheless, Morren participated in exhibitions with van Rysselberghe, Signac an🌠d Seurat, and his compositions of the 1890s rival those of his elite colleagues.

Shimmering with the light and reflection of the mid-day sun, this springtime scene of a wet nurse with babe-in-armsജ displays Morren's talents at their best.  The subject here is one that featured in several of the Impressionist compositions of the 1870s and 1880s by Morisot, Cassatt and Renoir, but the sharp focus achieved by Morren's technique adds an element of realism that eluded his predecessors' more sentimental versions of this subject. 

As indicated on the reverse of the canvas, Morren completed the present work in Antwerp.  Although the artist inscribes the picture with the date 1892, Tony Calabrese notes in the caꦺtalogue raisonné that the picture may have been painted the prior yea🎐r.