Items Similar to Evening Prayer in The Polish Mountains by woman artist large jewel coloured oil
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10
Marthe Alers-AbranEvening Prayer in The Polish Mountains by woman artist large jewel coloured oil circa 1905
circa 1905
About the Item
It is always wonderful to be able to do original research on a mysterious painting by a mysterious artist. Born in Paris in 1867, Marthe Alers-Abran died tragically young in the same City, aged only 41, in 1908. She had married Charles Alers, an engineer, in 1897, and taught drawing, like many female artists at the time.
However, unlike many woman artists in her time, she gained entry to the exclusive Salon des Artistes Français, obtaining an honourable mention in 1893 and a medal in 1896.
What intrigued me about the painting by her was that there was nothing Parisian, or even French about the scene it depicts. How did she come to paint it? I think I found the answer. Marthe was not only a painter, but also a sculptor – and a very good one at that, too. I have not been able to establish to what extend she worked and studied with Rodin, but she certainly had a connection to his, her name appearing in his studio archives. And it was certainly in Rodin’s studio that she met, and became friends with, fellow sculptor Sophie Postolska, a French woman of Polish origin, who was exactly the same age as she. Like Camille Claudel before her, Marthe’s friend Sophie was not only Rodin’s student, but also his muse and lover.
When Rodin broke up with Sophie in 1904, she tried to kill herself with Mercury Chloride, was admitted to the Hôpital Broussais. Once released, she started travelling, spending time in Krakow, Vienna, and Zakopane, a town at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, with a thriving artistic community.
This is where Marthe came to visit, and where she painted this beautiful, jewel coloured scene depicting local women at evening prayer in the fields. For me, this painting evokes memories of witnessing unfamiliar scenes in distant countries: that strange feeling of being present-yet-detached at the same time, of discovery. With her immense talent, I wonder how famous Marthe might have become if she had lived longer. In the year before her death, she exhibited paintings both at the Chateau de Rohan in Strasburg, and in an exhibition of French art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. She featured in Walter Shaw Sparrow’s book Women Painters of the World, an overview of prominent women painters from 1413 to 1905, the year of publication.
The purpose of the book was to prove wrong the statement that ‘the achievements of women painters have been second-rate’- which I suppose was an almost radical cause at the time!
Marthe’s work may well be gaining traction again. The Museum of Toulouse holds a work by Marthe, and her painting “Tigers in the Jungle” features in a more recent reference work on woman artists by Dr Sara Gray.
- Creator:Marthe Alers-Abran (1867 - 1908, French)
- Creation Year:circa 1905
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 36.23 in (92 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Norwich, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU99137878952
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are highly rated and consistently exceed customer expectations.
1stDibs seller since 2018
74 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Paris, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- The Seine at Sunrise, pink clouds: Impressionist blue and green River LandscapeLocated in Norwich, GBA fresh and atmospheric painting depicting the vast River Seine seen from the cliffs near its estuary in coastal Normandy. It is incredibly modern for its time: if the definition of ...Category
1880s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- American Impressionist: Springtime, a sunny path in France 19thC oil paintingBy William Baptiste BairdLocated in Norwich, GBThis beautiful and light filled painting testifies of a new dawn: in the 1880s the landscape and animalier artist William Baird turns to Impressionism. Our Sunny Path, with looser brushwork and lighter colours, convey the fleeting nature of the present. Our lovely oil on canvas may well be homage to Claude Monet - according to Baird's inscription on the stretcher, it was painted in Mantes, which is only about 6 miles from Vétheuil, where Monet was living and working in the 1880s! William Baptiste Baird was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1847, but as an adult moved to Paris to perfect his painting technique. In Paris, Baird studied under Adolphe Yvon...Category
1880s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Carriage ride in the countryside on a summer's day c 1880 Impressionist paintingLocated in Norwich, GBA sunny but temperate summer's day in the countryside: it's the perfect time and place to go for a stroll or a ride. This fresh and idyllic composition makes us, the viewers, feel li...Category
1880s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Barbizon Fontainebleau region Impressionist French summer landscape with figureLocated in Norwich, GBA wonderful view of the heartbreakingly beautiful Fontainebleau/Barbizon region, which was home to some of the greatest painters of the 19th and early 20th Century. The particular spot presented here is the river Loing at Montigny-sur-Loing, where Cezanne and Sisley loved to paint. The village is just a short walk away from Grez-sur-Loing, where John Singer Sargent, Francis Brooks Chadwick, Robert Vonnoh, Edward Simmons...Category
Early 1900s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Gathering wild red poppies: woman in a poppy field French Impressionist paintingBy Stephen JacobLocated in Norwich, GBOne of my customers told me about a picture he bought from me that he "felt as if he had always known it... a painting that feels like returning home". For me, this present oil by St...Category
Late 19th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- HaystacksBy Manuel BartholdLocated in Norwich, GBHaystacks, ca 1910, by Manuel Barthold (1874- 1947) This charming and peaceful rural scene was painted probably in Brittany,. With its pure colour and feel of immediacy, it is styli...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
You May Also Like
- Ligurian Alps with snow-capped pink tinted peaks. Sign. C. BentivoglioBy Cesare BentivoglioLocated in Firenze, ITLigurian Alps landscape with snow-capped peaks tinted by pink light. It's an oil on canvas depicting a mountain scene with a small rural building. The painting is of a rare, almo...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- French Impressionist River landscape, Rolleboise on the Seine, ParisLocated in Woodbury, CTImpressionist French River landscape, with boats, a boat house. Rolleboise on the Seine Choosing to acquire a French 1950s Impressionist river landscape by Frederic Luce is an oppo...Category
1950s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Stroll along Lake Como" Romantic Impressionist Oil Painting with FiguresBy Luigi CaglianiLocated in New York, NYA whimsical oil painting depicting figures playing along Lake Como in Europe near an intimate cafe. Lake Como, in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region, is an upscale resort area known fo...Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Looking Up through white blossom when she feels lostLocated in Deddington, GBLooking Up through white blossom when she feels lost by Emily Finch [2021] original Oil Paint on Canvas Image size: H:100 cm x W:30 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:100 cm x W:3...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Spring Landscape near BroughtonBy Andrea BatesLocated in Deddington, GBAndrea Bates 18 x 24″, oil £750, Spring Landscape near Broughton Size: H:18 cm x W:24 cmCategory
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Eleanor Woolley, Street Shadows 2, Affordable Art, Figurative ArtBy Eleanor WoolleyLocated in Deddington, GBStreet Shadows 2 [February 2021] Original Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas Canvas Size: H:50 cm x W:50 cm x D:3.5cm Sold Unframed Please note that insitu images are purely an indica...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
