Kaplan Gallery, London
Private Collection, Italy (sale: Sotheby's, London, 14th March 1995, lot 13)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

The canvas is not lined. There do not appear to be any signs of retouching visible under UV light. There is a small spot of paint loss to the purple pigment in the centre of the sky and a few further flecks in places. This work is in overall very 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Glowing with a luminous and vibrant light, Labastide du Vert depicts a small village north of Cahors, near Toulouse, where Henri Martin bought a house in 1900. On the thirty acres of land stood a large seventeenth-century house, named Marquayrol, and Martin became extremely attached to this property, so much so that its acquisition arguably marked a turning point in Martin’s career, encouraging him to abandon allegory and myth to fully devote himself to the representation of nature. Martin declared that: ‘My preoccupation with rendering atmospheric effects increased later, after three months in the country, face to face with nature. Trying to capture its diverse effects, I was compelled to paint it differently. The natural light, now brilliant, then diffuse, which softened the contours of figures and landscape, powerfully obliged me to translate it any way I could, but other than using a loaded brush, through pointille and the breaking up of tone’ (quoted in Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, Eden Close at Hand: The Paintings of Henri Martin, 1860-1943, 2005, p. 26). In Marquayrol the landscape and surroundings served as a constant source of inspiration to Martin and he was determined to capture the change in light and tones which occurred during the day and throughout the seasons. 

Henri Martin’s canvases are characteristically joyous expressions of light, colour and texture. His depictions of landscapes and architecture open a window to turn-of-the-century France animated by vivid palettes. Jacques Martin-Ferrières, the artist's son, notes that: ‘Henri Martin was without contest an Impressionist and one who had the deepest sensitiveness, certainly equal to that of Monet, whom he most admired. Their interpretation of nature is certainly, owing to their utmost sensitiveness and not through research of a technical process, a poetical evocation hued by a thousand colours which can undoubtedly be called a work of art’ (Jacques Martin-Ferrières, Henri Martin, Paris, 1967, p. 35).