(Paris 1841–1927 Orly, Val-de-Marne)
Landscape in Damiette, signed Guillaumin,
oil on canvas, 60 x 92 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
Galerie Serret-Fauveau, Paris, 1971:
there acquired in 1971 by the current owner’s father;
by inheritance to the current owner;
European Private Collection.

Listed and reproduced in:
Raymond Schmit, Hommage à Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927), 14 April–7 May 1970, Galerie Serret-Fauveau, Paris 1970, no. 20;
G. Serret, D. Fabiani, Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927), catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint, précedé de “Armand Guillaumin dans son temps” par Raymond Schmit, Edition Mayer, Paris 1971, no. 199.

Exhibited:
Galerie Serret-Fauveau, Paris, Hommage à Armand Guillaumin, 14 April–7 May 1970.

Born in Paris in 1841, Armand Guillaumin was largely self-taught. When he was seventeen he worked in his uncle’s shop as clerk. He then worked as a civil servant for the Orleans Railway Company and at the same time entered the Académie Suisse, a free school. There he met Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) and Camille Pissaro (1830–1903) with whom he had a lifelong friendship. It was indeed Cézanne who took him to the Café Guerbois to join the group of painters who in later years became known as the Impressionists.
At the beginning, Guillaumin painted in rather sombre colours — scenes in the city of Paris, particularly along the quays — but he soon came to adopt the new spectrum of bright colours of the future Impressionist group.
Damiette, where the present lot was painted, is located in the Seine et Oise department, a village close to Paris, where Guillaumin found his personal artistic expression. The artist was partly guided to find a picturesque environment in which to paint en plein air without being too far from his home in Paris. It offered Guillaumin a wide range of subjects, especially isolated landscapes.
He loved the region and nature, and thus executed the present lot outdoors. It depicts a landscape and the village of Damiette in the background. The hill is not very wooded. It does not offer grand horizons, but allowed the artist to paint in the open air and surrounded by nature, which he liked the most. Guillaumin was fascinated with light and colour throughout his career.
He sent his paintings to the famous Impressionist exhibitions lasting from 1874 to 1886. Also, the famous Parisian art dealer Durand-Ruel had an exhibition of his works.