Henri Lebasque (1865-1937) - A l’ombre des Eucalyptus"

Oil on canvas signed lower right and dated 1914
Dimensions: H. 73 x W. 92 cm

Henri Lebasque was born on September 25, 1865 in Champigné (Maine-et-Loire). A pupil of the School of Fine Arts in Angers, he came to Paris in 1886; he became for a short time a pupil of Bonnat, then of Humbert, whom he assisted in the decoration of the "Pantheon". But it is certain that his association with Camille Pissarro had the greatest influence on him.

In 1893, at the "Salon des Indépendants" in Paris, Lebasque met Luce and Signac: he would follow his two artists for a few years in their pointillist vision. From 1900 to 1906, Lebasque regularly painted his wife and children in his property in Lagny. But it is the discovery of the South of France that will transform his painting. After several trips to the Vendée, Brittany and Normandy, it is on the French Riviera that Lebasque settled permanently in 1924.

He was a friend of Bonnard, with whom he shared certain themes. Lebasque worked, among other things, on the decorations of the Champs-Élysées theater and the "transatlantique Paris"

In this painting, Henri Lebasque represented his family resting in the shade of tall trees. Dated 1914, it is most certainly one of his properties on the French Riviera. Lebasque manages to create a harmony between the representation of his family and the surrounding nature.

Provenance: German private collection. Label on the back: Abel Art Salon, Cologne.

Museums :
Angers
Geneva, Petit Palais
Lille, Museum of Fine Arts
Nantes
Paris, Museum of Modern Art
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