Antique Barbizon Painting "The Plow Horses" by Emile Jacque

View Similar Items

Barbizon Oil Painting "Village Ensoleille" by Emile-Charles Dameron 'French, 184

French Barbizon Pastoral Landscape Painting of Horses by Jules Dupré

Antique French Barbizon School Oil on Canvas Painting by Léon Richet

Barbizon School Painting, Jules Dupré "Landscape by the River", Oil on Canvas

Barbizon Landscape Painting by Jan van Lokhorst "A Rural Cottage" (1867)

19th Century Barbizon Style Landscape Painting

Barbizon Style Scene by Pierre Morinville, 19th Century Painting

Barbizon Landscape Painting

Barbizon School Period French Painting, 19th Century By "Corvoisier"

Barbizon, Shepherds Farmers Painting by Antoine Lalanne, 19th Century

Barbizon Landscape Painting of Harvest by Olof Hermelin 'Swedish, 1827-1913'

Antique French Oil on Canvas Signed Charles-Émile Jacque

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 21

Antique Barbizon Painting "The Plow Horses" by Emile Jacque

About the Item

In the heat of the day, this pair of work horses have been released from their duties for a brief respite before a pool of water. They look into the distance while waiting to be fully released from their plow harness. Typical of Émile Jacque, the present scene dispels any romantic notion about peasantry and the impoverished countryside, instead depicting the joy found in hard labor. An idyllic setting is a reminder of how easy beauty is forgotten in the midst of struggle - but our plow horses lean into one another, the breeze blowing through the mane of the white horse, both with a hidden eye towards the wild beauty of the distant horizon. Signed lower left in his typical script "E. Jacque", the reverse of the painting is stamped by the supplies retailer both to the stretcher bar and the canvas "TASSET & LHOTE / Rue Fontaine 31, Paris". Tasset et Lhôte is the same painting supply shop frequented by Vincent Van Gogh and used for his paintings from 1888 through 1890; such contemporaries as Alfred Sisley, Paul Signac and Edgar Degas also frequented their shop. It was a relatively small store established in 1885 in the 9th arrondissement of Paris by Guillaume Charles Tasset with a silent partner Lhote. The canvas can be dated to between 1885 and 1899, as the partnership dissolved and only Tasset's name appears on canvas supplies thereafter. (See 'Edgar Degas, Photographer', The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 75-79 for more details) Jacque's work is uncommon, rarely found on the open market, and if historical auction records are a worthy proxy of his output, his production was but a fraction of what his father painted. Émile was the eldest son of Charles Jacque and studied under the famous Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904). He received an honourable mention at the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and a third-class medal in 1901. Like his father, Charles Émile Jacque, Émile was deeply interested in the Barbizon technique of painting and used animals in most of his scenes, but his emphasis is on the human interaction with his equestrian subjects. For that matter, when looking over a brief survey of his paintings that have sold at auction in the Benezit, all but a handful are Equestrian with a particular emphasis on their partnership with the farmer. Jacque's interest in detail and anatomical accuracy of his animals is showcased in this scene where, despite loose brushwork and an impressionistic handling of color layering, even the smallest details around the knot structure and wear of the ropes has been researched and executed with superior realism. Far from a gloomy repudiation of struggle, the artist shows joy in the face of struggle. His work was a commitment to realism and accuracy, a celebration of work and a historical snapshot of a time where labor was difficult. Literature: E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. VII, Gründ, 2006, p. 679-80 Measurements: 31 1/8" H x 27 1/4" W x 3 3/4" D [frame]; 22" H x 18 1/2" W [canvas] Condition Report: Professionally conserved (cleaned, new damar varnish); under UV showing touch-ups to extreme edges of the painting where the frame rubs, possible inpainting to the right of the right horse's neck, painting difficult to read in lower half with fresh varnish flaring. Early giltwood frame with some losses to gilding, including the inner lower left corner; a few areas of inpainting to the gilding.

Dimensions:
Height: 31.13 in (79.08 cm)Width: 27.25 in (69.22 cm)Depth: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)
Style:
Barbizon School (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Canvas,Giltwood,Paint
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1885-1900
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. See condition notes in description text.
Seller Location:
Shippensburg, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: 012FHR16A1stDibs: LU1059022638442