This superb French 19th century oil painting, La Source, location previously unknown according to the Jean Jacques Henner Museum catalogue of pictures, is a fantastic art historical re-discovery. It is by noted artist Jean Jacques Henner, a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in nudes, religious subjects, and portraits. La Source, or Spring, is a magnificent, very large French Romantic oil painting depicting a subject for which Henner became famous. The painting was begun in 1880 and completed in 1881 and it was exhibited at the Paris Salon that year. The sitter is Dorothy Tenant (1855-1926) or Dolly, an English art pupil of Henner’s and also his model. (See her biography below). According to the artist’s diary of January 1880, working titles included Seated Woman Combing her Hair, Woman Seated at the Spring Combing her Hair, Seated Figure at the Spring. These were all pared down to La Source or The Spring. The painting was put away for a while whilst Henner worked on several sketches, before completing it for the Salon in 1881.
La Source is a painting of a beautiful young woman, Dolly, unclothed, combing her long auburn hair, sat on the edge of a pool or spring in a landscape. Her serene face and body are almost glowing against the darker landscape, all enhanced by the sfumato and chiaroscuro technique. Indeed, Dolly Tennant commented on the painting that her skin glowed against the darkness like a pearl. Beyond her is a patch of startling blue sky, reflected in the pool at her feet. The rough brush work in the flora and fauna around her, a precursor to French Impressionism, contrasts with the smoothness of her skin. A really stunning painting with excellent provenance that has been thoroughly researched. This painting is in the Henner Musee National catalogue of paintings by Isabelle de Lannoy, noted as location unknown and exhibited at the Salon in 1881. Also noted in the museum catalogue are two preparatory studies for La Source identifying the sitter as Dolly Tennant. One of the images is also shown on the front cover.
Signed lower right.
Provenance Exhibited Paris Salon 1881 no. 1125 entitled La Source.
1881 Goupil
1881 New York, Herman Schauss Gallery
New York, Mrs Morgan
1886 05/03 New York Am Art Ass.
Mary J Morgan Sale lot no. 229
1886 Montreal, Mr Donald Smith
Formerly in the collection of Mary Jane Morgan
Aitken Dott - The Scottish Gallery ref R9101.
Sotheby sale 30th Dec 1985.
Thomas Agnews and Sons.
Catalogue of Paintings for National Museum of Jean Jacques Henner, France, by Isabelle de Lannay, p174. La Source, Salon 1881, location unknown. Plus study of Dolly Tennant for La Source and another study for La Source.
The New York Market for French Art in the Gilded Age, 1867-1893 by Dr Leanne Zalewski, published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022, page 39, La Source image 3.3.
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