Fondation Custodia acquires a View of Rome by Degas For some years now, the Fondation Custodia has been collecting oil sketches made in the open air – a practice artists in several countries have engaged in since the second half of the eighteenth century. Painting out of doors brought with it an immediacy and directness that anticipated Impressionism. Like drawings, the sketches often served as the basis for more constructed paintings made in a studio. John Constable (1776-1837), View of Gardens at Hampstead, with an Elder Tree, c. 1821-22 Oil on cardboard, 17,6 × 14 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2019-S.58 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Landscape with Dunes, near Arcachon, c. 1883-85 Oil on panel, 16,3 × 23 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2020-S.24 After a View of Gardens at Hampstead (c. 1821-22) by the influential English artist John Constable (1776-1837) and a Landscape with Dunes near Arcachon (c. 1883-85) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), the Fondation has now been able to acquire a View of the Quirinal by Edgar Degas (1834-1917), made during his stay in Italy between 1856 and 1859. The paintings reveal another side to these masters’ art; in a sense they are atypical, but intriguing for that very reason, and they buttress this new element of the collection in Paris. Edgar Degas (1834-1917), View of the Quirinal, Rome, c. 1856-59 Oil on paper, laid down on canvas, 21,2 × 28,2 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2021-S.1 Degas had relatives living in Naples, and the study trip was of great importance for his development. While he was there, he filled countless sketchbooks with drawings of works of art from classical antiquity and the Renaissance, figure studies and landscapes. In Rome he took part in life drawing sessions with other artists and embarked on the imposing Portrait of the Bellelli Family (Musée d’Orsay, Paris), one of the absolute highlights of portraiture. He also made a number of small oil sketches of sights in Naples and in and around Rome. The new acquisition is one of the most striking in this group, with a surprising lilac sky and a degree of sketchiness which clearly shows that Degas was a great admirer of Corot, who also knew how to ‘abbreviate’ a landscape or city view. The swift, rhythmic brushstrokes that suggest windows seem to create music. Staircase of the Fondation Custodia with oil sketches Photo Jannes Linders The purchase has been made possible in part by a private donation and – with the Constable and the Toulouse-Lautrec – creates an important accent in the ensemble displayed in the stairwell and entrance of Hôtel Turgot, the Fondation’s home. Painting outdoors is the subject of Sur le motif, an exhibition that will open in Paris from 3 December 2021 to 3 April 2022 and took place in the National Gallery of Art in Washington under the title True to Nature in 2020. The three newly acquired paintings will be part of this exhibition.
Fondation Custodia acquires a View of Rome by Degas For some years now, the Fondation Custodia has been collecting oil sketches made in the open air – a practice artists in several countries have engaged in since the second half of the eighteenth century. Painting out of doors brought with it an immediacy and directness that anticipated Impressionism. Like drawings, the sketches often served as the basis for more constructed paintings made in a studio. John Constable (1776-1837), View of Gardens at Hampstead, with an Elder Tree, c. 1821-22 Oil on cardboard, 17,6 × 14 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2019-S.58 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Landscape with Dunes, near Arcachon, c. 1883-85 Oil on panel, 16,3 × 23 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2020-S.24 After a View of Gardens at Hampstead (c. 1821-22) by the influential English artist John Constable (1776-1837) and a Landscape with Dunes near Arcachon (c. 1883-85) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), the Fondation has now been able to acquire a View of the Quirinal by Edgar Degas (1834-1917), made during his stay in Italy between 1856 and 1859. The paintings reveal another side to these masters’ art; in a sense they are atypical, but intriguing for that very reason, and they buttress this new element of the collection in Paris. Edgar Degas (1834-1917), View of the Quirinal, Rome, c. 1856-59 Oil on paper, laid down on canvas, 21,2 × 28,2 cmFondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, inv. 2021-S.1 Degas had relatives living in Naples, and the study trip was of great importance for his development. While he was there, he filled countless sketchbooks with drawings of works of art from classical antiquity and the Renaissance, figure studies and landscapes. In Rome he took part in life drawing sessions with other artists and embarked on the imposing Portrait of the Bellelli Family (Musée d’Orsay, Paris), one of the absolute highlights of portraiture. He also made a number of small oil sketches of sights in Naples and in and around Rome. The new acquisition is one of the most striking in this group, with a surprising lilac sky and a degree of sketchiness which clearly shows that Degas was a great admirer of Corot, who also knew how to ‘abbreviate’ a landscape or city view. The swift, rhythmic brushstrokes that suggest windows seem to create music. Staircase of the Fondation Custodia with oil sketches Photo Jannes Linders The purchase has been made possible in part by a private donation and – with the Constable and the Toulouse-Lautrec – creates an important accent in the ensemble displayed in the stairwell and entrance of Hôtel Turgot, the Fondation’s home. Painting outdoors is the subject of Sur le motif, an exhibition that will open in Paris from 3 December 2021 to 3 April 2022 and took place in the National Gallery of Art in Washington under the title True to Nature in 2020. The three newly acquired paintings will be part of this exhibition.