In the greenhouse, Albert Bartholomé, 1881

Albert Bartholomew,

In the greenhouse, 1881 

Historical background:

1989, sale, Angers, Mr Henry Martin and Mr François Branger, 9-10 December 1989, n° 3 from 1989 to 1990, Galerie Bailly, Paris.

1990, accepted by the State as a gift from the Société des Amis du Musée d’Orsay.

1990, attributed to the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Oil on canvas

H. 2.35 ; L. 1.45

Photo credit: © photo musée d’Orsay / rmn – Patrice Schmidt

Presented at the Salon de la Société des artistes français in 1881, this portrait belongs to a stream of works inspired by classical art but whose authors looked both at realistic practices and at the novelties of Impressionism.

The painting depicts a young woman caught from the front as she passes through the French window of a subdued interior. The very calm gesture and the careful costume make this work part of the tradition of the ceremonial portrait. On the other hand, the chiaroscuro effect and the bright colours applied in bold strokes evoke the Impressionist technique, that of Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) for example. As for the realism and attention to detail, they recall the major role played by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884) in the Salons of the second half of the 1870s.

These multiple contributions are a reflection of the mundane life led by the Bartholomé couple. Their salon was frequented by a wide variety of artists and writers. They met, among others, the worldly portrait painter Jacques-Emile Blanche (1861-1942) or the American painter Mary Cassatt (1845-1926), the naturalist writer and critic Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926) or the symbolist novelist Joris Karl Huysmans (1848-1907). It was still a time of happy life for the painter, interrupted in 1887 by the death of his wife.