Jules-Adolphe-Aimé-Louis Breton

Exhibited by Talabardon & Gautier

Material Oil on canvas

Dimensions 124,3 x 83,3 cm

Place of Creation Paris

Price Price available upon inquiry

Status Vetted

About the Work

Along with his native Artois, Brittany holds an essential place in Jules Breton's life. He discovered the region in the summer of 1865. Fascinated by the luminosity and landscapes of the coast, as well as by the beauty and allure of the local women, Breton returned in 1868, then every year at the end of summer, at least until 1879, and more sporadically thereafter. The primitive faith of the Bretons made a lasting impression on him right from his first mass in Ploaré. Pardons, large religious penitential gatherings typically Breton, were to captivate him, and the one at Kergoat particularly marked him. In his Grand Breton pardon (The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana), exhibited at the Salon of 1869, he succeeds in recreating the very singular atmosphere of fervor of one of these assemblies, and in conveying the character he himself considers so “fanatical and sacred”. This large-scale composition was prepared by numerous small studies of mid-body figures, painted in oil from life, which foreshadowed our Penitent painted in 1872.

Our painting is a perfect illustration of the success enjoyed by the author of Le Chant de l'alouette (1884, Art Institute of Chicago), voted “favorite work” by the American public in 1934. Breton's evocation of a rural life imbued with religiosity, combined with a naturalistic approach, perfectly matched the expectations of American collectors, who quickly snapped up his paintings at high prices. Our painting was acquired in 1881 by John Graver Johnson (1841-1917). A native of Philadelphia, this business lawyer built up one of the most important collections in the United States, bequeathed on his death to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where it is one of the core collections of European art. The painting later joined another major Philadelphia collection, that of brewer Peter A. Schemm (1825-1909). Our painting was considered by its owner to be the centerpiece of his gallery of paintings.

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Provenance

- Probably Edmond Simon, collector and sales representative of the gallery Arthur Tooth & Sons (London);
- gallery Goupil & cie, Paris, bought 6.600 francs from the previous on August 18, 1880 (stock n°14807);
- Knoedler & co, New York, bought 8.500 francs from the previous on September 8, 1880 (stock n°2836);
- John Graver Johnson (1841-1917), lawyer and collector, Philadelphia, acquired from the previous for 2.150 dollars on May 24, 1881 until 1892 at least;
- Peter A. Schemm (1825-1909), brewer and collector, Philadelphia, in 1898;
- his sale, American Art Association, New York, March 15, 1911, lot 232 (sold for 535 dollars to « Edw Brandus »);
- gallery Edward Brandus, New York, Paris;
- gallery Bernheim, Paris, December 1911;
- Clara Thisted de Dias (circa 1909-1987), Buenos Aires;
- sold by the previous, Roldan y Cia, Buenos Aires (Argentina), June 1974, lot 181 (sold to « H. F. »).

Literature

– Anonymous, « Spring Exhibitions. – French Gallery », The Architect, vol. IX, April 5, 1873, p. 178;
– anonymous, « Exhibition of pictures of the Continental Schools, French Gallery », The Athenæum, n° 2371, April 5, 1873, p. 445;
– anonymous, « The French Gallery in Pall Mall », The Saturday Review, n° 911, vol. 35, April 12, 1873, p. 485;
– anonymous, « French Gallery, Pall Mall. », The Builder, vol. XXXI, n° 1577, April 26, 1873, p. 319;
– M. M. Heaton, « Exhibition of the artists of the Continental Schools », The Academy, vol. IV, n° 73, June 2, 1873, p. 206;
– anonymous, « The French Gallery, Pall Mall », The Art-Journal, vol. XII, 1873, p. 136;
– E. Montrosier, « Jules Breton », Grands peintres français et étrangers, Paris, 1884, ill. p. 37;
– E. Montrosier, « Jules Breton », The Great modern painters, Paris, 1884, ill. p. 37;
– Catalogue of a collection of paintings belonging to John G. Johnson, 1892, p. 10, cat. n° 24;
– P. A. Schemm, E. A. Kopp, Catalogue of paintings belonging to Peter A. Schemm, Philadelphia, PA, 1898, Philadelphia, 1898, p. 16, cat. n° 56;
– Catalogue of the private collection of paintings belonging to Peter A. Schemm, Philadelphia, PA, 1901, Philadelphia, 1901, p. 17, cat. n° 53, reproduced on the cover page;
– S. Decatur Smith jr., « A Gallery of Modern Art », The Booklovers Magazine, September 1903, vol. II, n° III, p. 256, repr. p. 257;
– M. C. O’ Brien, In support of Liberty, European paintings at the 1883 Pedestal Fund Fund Art exhibition, The Parish art museum, Southampton, 1986, p. 31, 48 et 136, repr. p. 28, fig. 11.