Léon-Augustin Lhermitte (French, 1844-1925) Les lavandières, circa 1864 Pastel on paper laid on ca...
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Description
Léon-Augustin Lhermitte (French, 1844-1925)Les lavandières, circa 1864
Pastel on paper laid on canvas
21 x 25 inches (53.3 x 63.5 cm) (sight)
Signed lower right: L'hermitte
PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Private collection, France, acquired from the above;
Galerie Wallis et Cie, Paris, 1902;
Andrew Bishop, Canada;
Thence by descent;
Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Munich, June 27-28, 2013, lot 966;
Hermitage Fine Art, Monaco, July 5, 2019, lot 13;
Private collection, France;
Private collection, Beverly Hills, California.
The authenticity of this work was confirmed by Monique Le Pelley Forteny in 2024.
Les lavandières, executed when Léon-Augustin Lhermitte was in his early twenties, is a remarkably mature work from the artist's formative period. Beneath a vast, turbulent sky, two washerwomen bend beside a quiet stream, their white caps glinting in the filtered light. A massive oak tree dominates the right foreground while a distant line of trees recedes into the haze, their silhouettes uniting earth and sky in a gentle rhythm. Lhermitte renders the scene with a soft, expressive touch, expertly using his pastels to capture diffused light and atmospheric tone. Subtle gradations of brown, green, and blue merge without deeply defined contours, enveloping the figures within the landscape. The composition demonstrates the artist's mastery of light and air, and its subject anticipates later depictions of French peasant life that would earn him international fame.
Dated circa 1864, while Lhermitte was studying under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the École impériale de dessin, the present pastel reflects his teacher's emphasis on observation from memory and disciplined tonal study. Its naturalism aligns with the spirit of the Barbizon School—especially Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's poetic plein-air landscapes (see lot 69051) and Jean-François Millet's commitment to depicting rural labor—yet Lhermitte's approach is distinctly personal: intimate, direct, and unsentimental.
Pastel was still relatively unconventional for important landscape art in the 1860s, but Les lavandières provides Lhermitte with an expressive medium of immediacy and luminosity. The work foreshadows both his later Salon successes and his enduring interest in the dignity of rural labor and its connection to the land. His oeuvre proved inspirational to a generation of artists, including his great admirer Vincent van Gogh, who aptly explained: "When I see a Lhermitte, I find something so noble, so full of life and truth, that I feel how much there is still to do and to learn" (Letter 538 in L. Jansen, H. Luijten, and N. Bakker, eds., Vincent van Gogh: The Letters, Amsterdam, 2009).
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000.
Condition Report*:
Condition report available upon request. Framed under glass. Not examined out of frame due to size.
Framed Dimensions 34 X 37.5 X 4 Inches
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Statements regarding the condition of objects are only for general guidance and should not be relied upon as complete statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation,
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All lots are sold "AS IS" under the Terms & Conditions of Auction.Framed Dimensions 34 X 37.5 X 4 Inches
Auction Info
2025 November 18 Fine European Art Signature® Auction #8223 (go to Auction Home page)
Bidding Begins Approx.
October
28th
Tuesday
Auction Dates
November
18th
Tuesday
Proxy Bidding Begins Approx.
7 Days
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: N/A
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 38
Auction Type
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Signature®: Heritage Live®:After Internet bidding closes, live bidding will take place through www.HA.com/Live. Your secret maximum bid placed prior to the live event will compete against the live bids. To maximize your chances of winning, enter realistic secret maximum bids on our site. Many of our proxy bidders are successful at winning lots in these auctions, and usually below their secret maximum. You can also place last minute bids directly with us by e-mailing Bid@HA.com or calling 1-866-835-3243. (Important note: Due to software and Internet latency, live bids may not register in time, so enter realistic proxy bids.)
Signature® Floor Sessions
Proxy bidding ends ten minutes prior to the session start time. Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live now starts within 2 hours of when the auction opens for proxy bidding and continues through the live session. During the live auction event, bidding in person is encouraged, and Heritage Live includes streaming audio and often video during the event.
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