Canadian Fine Art Auction

November 21, 2016

LOT 20

Lot 20

JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.

JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.
Lot 20 Details
JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.

DANS LE PARC

oil on canvas
signed and dated ‘56
31 ins x 41.25 ins; 78.7 cms x 104.1 cms

Estimate $40,000-$60,000

Realised: $38,400
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.
  • JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.
  • JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.
Provenance:

Private Collection, Montreal

Note:

While he was a teacher at the École des beaux-arts de Québec, Lemieux received a grant from the Royal Society of Canada, which enabled him to spend a sabbatical year in France from 1954-55. He later admitted to being lost in France, painting work that looked like Monet or Bonnard in Paris, and Cézanne and Matisse in the south. Nonetheless, a year away from Canada afforded Lemieux the physical and psychological distance from the familiar, so that he could take his work in a different direction when he returned to Canada. He had a new regard for the broad, open spaces of the Canadian landscape which he expressed through the horizontality characteristic of his classic period, beginning in 1956. In 1967, he explained that he tried to express universal solitude in his landscapes and characters, and the inner world of his memories. His physical environment interested him only because it allowed him to paint his “inner world.”

Dans le parc, executed in 1956, shows him moving away from the anecdotal quality of the early 1950s work, in order to emphasize the underlying emotional mood of the picture. It is a transitional piece whose painterly style shows the influence of the School of Paris, and whose decorative (that is, symbolic) use of colour and form link it to Post-Impressionism. Lemieux has imbued the work with drama: shades of blue and green dominate, and the dark wedge of forest on the left looms suspensefully over the two tiny figures at the end of the path, who seem caught between the woods and the water. That same year, Lemieux would solve the problem of how to express the isolation of contemporary life. He would simplify the landscape, emphasizing the horizontal, and enlarge the figures so that their relationship to the landscape would carry the emotional message.

The National Gallery of Canada owns three works from this year: Winter Landscape, The Noon Train and The Distant City.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 20
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.