Le Petit Escalier, La Bastide-du-Vert

Henri Martin
French, 1860-1943

Le Petit Escalier, La Bastide-du-Vert

oil on canvas
29 3/8 x 33 5/8 inches (74.5 x 85.5 cm)
38 ¾ x 43 inches framed
signed lower left: Henri Martin


Provenance:
Kaplan Gallery, London
Private Collection, PA (acquired from the above, 15 May 1971)
Private Collection, New York

Exhibited:
Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Exposition Henri Martin (label)
London, Kaplan Gallery, “An Exhibition of Paintings by Henri Martin,” 20 Apr – 29 May 1971, no. 10, as “La Maison Fleurie,” (illus. in color)


In 1900 Henri Martin purchased the home known as Marquayrol overlooking the Village of La Bastide du Vert not far from his native Toulouse. Henri Martin would produce many of his most memorable paintings in these environs during the remainder of his life. The ancient arched bridges, charming stone buildings and stands of poplar trees along banks of the river would become to Henri Martin what Giverny was to Claude Monet: an unending source of inspiration, wonder and beauty.

Henri Martin was born August 5, 1860 in Toulouse. His early works were devoted to poetic and allegorical themes reflecting his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse. After winning the Grand Prix he moved to Paris in 1879 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Paul Laurens. Martin exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris from 1880, winning a medal at the 1883 Salon. 

 A visit to Italy in 1885 brought a new lyrical freedom to his work. On Henri Martin's return to Paris in 1889, he began experimenting with pointillism and turned almost exclusively to landscape. In the 1890's his work showed links with Symbolism.  He was an associate of the Symbolists and exhibited at their acclaimed showcase -- the first Salon de la Rose Croix -- in 1892. Under the influence of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, Martin adopted the pointillism that is exemplary of his most successful works - those rendered in the latter part of his career after having found the technique at which he excelled.  In 1889 Henri Martin exhibited at La Fête de la Federation where he was presented with a gold medal.  He was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1896, and in 1900 won the grand prize at the Exposition Universelle.  Martin was named Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1914, and became a member of the Institute in 1918. 


Selected Museum Collections:
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Philadelphia Art Museum, Pennyslvania, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit and the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Musée Bonnat, Bayonne; Musée départemental de l'Oise, Beauvais; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen; Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai; Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille; Madrid; Musée Cantini, Marseille; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Musée Ingres, Montauban; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes; Musée du Petit Palais, Musée des Arts Décoratifs & Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris; Musée Crozatier, Le Puy-en-Velay; Musée Antoine Lécuyer, Saint-Quentin; Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg; Musée des Augustins, Musée du Vieux-Toulouse & Faculté des letters, Toulouse; Musée d'art moderne, Troyes; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes