Émile Bastien Lepage (1854-1938) - Les saules

Oil on canvas by Émile Bastien-Lepage (1854–1938)
Title: “The Willows”
Dimensions: 30 × 22 cm (Framed size)
Model: Lucie, cousin of the Bastien-Lepage family
Technique: Oil on canvas marouflaged onto wooden panel

A rare and deeply intimate work, at the very heart of the Bastien-Lepage family universe.
This painting portrays the young Lucie, also immortalized in Jules Bastien-Lepage’s famous painting “La Communiante.”
Her gentle profile, the delicate light on the white dress, and the silent garden atmosphere compose a scene of remarkable poetry.

Place called “les saules,” commune of Damvilliers,
Painting once owned by the grandmother of the previous owner of the painting residing in Damvilliers.

"Why this work is exceptional"
•Direct link to the Bastien-Lepage family: a rare testimony of a private scene.
•Authentic location: “Les Saules,” in Damvillers (Meuse), where Jules and Émile carried out a large part of their naturalist studies.
•Identified model: the young woman depicted is Lucie, recognizable by comparison with “La Communiante” and especially by the signature "a ma très chère Luc,” the only possible reading being Lucie, their cousin.

• A typically naturalist aesthetic: soft palette, deep greens of the undergrowth, subtle modeling of the flesh.
• A collectible painting, rarely seen on the market.
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"Description"
The young woman sits in profile, calm and elegant, in a tree-lined garden.
Light plays across the folds of the dress, and the green background, worked in small, layered touches, recalls the entire naturalist tradition of the Bastien-Lepage family.
A hat placed in the grass completes this outdoor scene.
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Dating: 1886
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"Ideal work for a collector"
An elegant, intimate, rare, and historically meaningful painting.
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"Shipping & Presentation"
Professional and careful packing.
Secure shipment, tracking provided.
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A unique opportunity to acquire a work from the direct circle of the Bastien-Lepage family, bearing witness to both their artistic sensitivity and their family history.

CONDITION
Canvas in generally good condition, a few very light age-related cracks, old varnish slightly yellowed."