Galerie Georges Petit, Paris
Private Collection, France
Thence by descent to the present owner

Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Exposition des Douze, 1921

Yann Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner, L'Œuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, no. 417, illustrated p. 167

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals two nailhead-sized spots of retouching to the upper left corner and a few minor spots along the left of the lower edge. Otherwise, this work is in overall very good condition. Colours: Fairly accurate, although the colours are brighter in the original.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A painter whose work is celebrated for its intimacy and atmospheric musicality, Henri Le Sidaner's ability to find the poetry in even the simplest of scenes is experienced to its fullest effect in the present work. Painted in 1919, this sumptuous depiction of an autumnal afternoon along the banks of a canal drenched in early-evening sunlight evokes a wistful, romantic mood. A mood which recalls the Symbolism of the artist's early years and one which, as Camille Mauclair observes, is intensified by the absence of figures: he considered that the silent harmony of things is enough to evoke the presence of those who live among them. Indeed, such presences are felt throughout his works. Deserted they may be but never empty. (Camille Mauclair, Henri Le Sidaner, Paris, 1928, p. 12)

Possessed of an astonishing luminosity, Le Bateau de sel is testament  to Le Sidaner's distinctive mastery of Neo-Impressionist techniques, with its subtle harmonies and painterly application of pigment. The artist clearly delights in the effect of the light; he is drawn to the reflection of the golden leaves in the calm water as the sun disappears below the horizon, out of sight. Rémy Le Sidaner wrote of his father's pleasure when he came across such glorious effects whilst out walking: 'my father would give me his usual sign and we would stop still whilst he scrutinised the horizon, committing what he saw to memory [...] He often made a colour sketch of the site, but this had nothing to do with the effect, which would later be committed to canvas in his studio from memory alone; they were too fleeting and too changeable to be painted on the spot' (Rémy Le Sidaner, in 'Le Peintre Henri Le Sidaner tel que je l'ai connu', Henri le Sidaner (1862-1939) (exhibition catalogue), Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1989, p. 11). Himself the son of a sailor, the depiction of water in all its forms remained one of the most enduring themes of Henri Le Sidaner's oeuvre and he returned many times to paint the canal at Quimperlé (Fig. 1), a small coastal town in Brittany, which is the subject of the present work.

In 1899, Le Sidaner signed an exclusivity contract with the Galeries Georges Petit which went on to support the artist throughout his career, buying and promoting his canvases – including Le Bateau de sel – and organising a great many exhibi𓂃tions of his work, not least🐲 the grand retrospective of 1925.