Georges De Feure (1868 - 1943)

Provenance:
Anonymous sale, Me Champin-Lombrail-Gautier, Enghien-les-bains, 2 décembre 1984, lot 117;
Where acquired by Mlle J.;
Sale, Sotheby's Paris, June 19, 2024, lot 93
 


Exhibition:
Tokyo, Odakyu Grand Gallery and Osaka, Daimaru Museum, Umeda, Georges de Feure, July-September 1990, no. 79.
 


Literature:
Ian Millman, Georges De Feure, Maître du Symbolisme et de l’Art Nouveau, Courbevoie 1992, p. 189, repr.


In this painting of the area around Bruges, Georges de Feure demonstrates the skill with which he was able to combine different influences to create original and distinctive compositions. This composition includes Symbolist and Art Nouveau elements but is also marked by Japanism.
 
It was only in 1903, at the Georges de Feure retrospective at Art Nouveau Bing, that the public discovered the artist’s landscape paintings. He was experienced by this time and his artistic path had led him to develop an original approach to composition. This daring composition with the three trees punctuating the right-hand side of the painting is reminiscent of some prints by Hiroshige and Hokusai. His palette, as well as his almost summary treatment of some elements, reflects his experience in the decorative arts, giving his landscapes an ornamental dimension. These aspects combine to create a unique visual idiom that distinguishes Georges de Feure’s landscapes from those of his contemporaries.