"View of the village" ( Fr. La Vue de village ) - a picture in the style of early impressionism with elements of academism by the French artist Jean-Frederic Basil , which depicts a portrait of a girl against the backdrop of a rural landscape. The canvas was painted in 1868 and is an oil painting on canvas measuring 137.5 × 85.5 cm. It is currently stored in the Fabre Museum in Montpellier .
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| Frederick Basile | ||
| View of the village . 1868 | ||
| La vue de village | ||
| Canvas, oil. 137.5 × 85.5 cm | ||
| Fabre Museum , Montpellier | ||
| ( inv. ) | ||
Content
History
In December 1863, Basile set himself the goal of "painting portraits in the sun." In 1864-1869, he painted several portraits in the open air, during his time at the Merik family estate on the outskirts of Montpellier. So, in 1864 he wrote the canvas “ Pink Dress ”, and in 1867 - “ Family Reunion ”, a group portrait of relatives and acquaintances. In 1868, here in the south of France, he painted two paintings - a portrait of a naked man “ Fisherman with a Net ” and a portrait of a girl with a rural landscape in the background “View of the village”.
Basil wanted to present both paintings to the public at an exhibition in the Paris Salon in 1869. The salon's management rejected the artist's “ Fisherman with a Net ” and allowed only the “View of the Village” canvas to the exhibition. The artist Bertha Morisot , who saw the picture at the exhibition in May 1869, wrote in a letter to her sister: “The great Basil created what seems to me very true: this girl in a light dress in the shade of a tree, and behind her the village is visible. There is a lot of light, the sun. He tried to portray what we all so often tried to do - to paint a portrait in the open air, and this time his attempt was a success. ”
On the ability of Basil to combine portrait painting with painting needs in the open air, the critic wrote in his review: “Every spring from the southern regions, Mr. Basile returns with summer […] pictures full of greenery, sunlight and simple design ". Artist Zachariah Astruc also recognized the author of the canvas leadership in the image of "an extraordinary fullness of light, a special impression from the plein air, the power of the day."
Description
The girl depicted by the artist in the foreground of the picture was probably the daughter of an Italian gardener on the estate of Basil's parents. She sits on the ground in the shade of pine branches, with her hands folded in her lap, in which she holds a small bouquet. Her insightful and serious look is turned to the viewer and contrasts with the gentle features of the face. Basile with great skill portrayed the girl's face, showing her character.
On the girl's dress is white muslin with pink and gray stripes. The red ribbon in her hair and the belt of the same color create a bright accent. In the background are pictures of the river Les and the town of , flooded with sunlight, with tiled roofs and a bell tower of the church of St. John the Baptist.
Provenance
Since the creation of the canvas in 1868, it has been on the estate of the parents of the artist Gaston Basil and Camilla Basil, born Vialar in Montpellier. In 1898, Camilla Basile donated the painting to the museum of Fabre, in whose collection she is now [1] .
Notes
- ↑ Tinterow, Loyrette, 1994 , p. 333
Literature
- Pitman DW Bazille: Purity, Pose, and Painting in the 1860s : [ eng ] . - University Park, Pennsylvania: , 1998. - P. 213. - 300 p. - ISBN 978-0-27-104433-0 .
- Tinterow G., Loyrette H. Origins of Impressionism : [ eng ] . - New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. - p. 333. - 486 p. - ISBN 978-0-87-099717-4 .
Links
- Bazille Frédéric (Montpellier). Vue de village (Fr.) . www.museefabre.com . - Musée Fabre. The appeal date is June 19, 2019.
- Manzi V. Veduta del villaggio (Italian) . www.geometriefluide.com . - Geometrie fluide. The appeal date is June 19, 2019.