Louis Anquetin

(French, 1861-1932)

Coup de Vent sur le Pont des Saint Pères, c. 1889

ink and watercolor over black chalk on paper laid down to paper

signed Anquetin (lower right)

19 1/4 x 15 3/8 in. (48.9 x 39.1cm)

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

We wish to thank the Comité Anquetin at Brame & Lorenceau, Paris for kindly confirming the authenticity of the present Lot, which will be accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Provenance:

Christie's London, sale of June 26, 1995, lot 1.

Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, Ltd., London, United Kingdom.

Acquired directly from the above by the present owner.

Exhibited:

London, Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, Nineteenth Century French Drawings and some sculptures, June 13 - July 12, 1996, no. 31 (illustrated).

Lot Essay:

This watercolor is one of several key preparatory studies for Coup de Vent, Pont des Saints-Pères, Anquetin’s celebrated painting now housed in the Kunsthalle Bremen. When first exhibited at the 1891 Salon des Indépendants, the oil version caused quite a stir, critics calling the work disproportioned and fantastical. Yet, Émile Bernard praised it in a letter to Belgian painter Eugène Boch, calling it “very successful, very delicate,” and noting it had “the most perfect coloration” he had ever seen in Anquetin’s work. Today, this painting is recognized as a pivotal moment in Anquetin's career—one that earned him the moniker “painter of modern life,” much like Manet before him.

Anquetin draws on the compositional influence of Japanese woodcuts, capturing the restless motion of horse manes as they pull an omnibus across the Pont des Saints-Pères—a bridge now called Pont du Carrousel that connects the Louvre to the Musée d'Orsay. In the background, we glimpse the Île de la Cité and the towers of Notre Dame, yet the cityscape remains secondary. Anquetin’s true focus lies in the fleeting drama of everyday life. A strong wind animates the scene: one woman clutches her hat while another’s coat and flamboyant boa lift dramatically into the air, swirling like the wings of an exotic bird. The cool blue tones evoke the crispness of an autumn day, while bold outlines and flat areas of color—a style later embraced by Émile Bernard, Paul Gauguin, and the Nabis—prompted poet Édouard Dujardin to describe this technique as “Cloisonnism.”

Highly stylized, the image blends flattened patterns, asymmetrical composition, and a restrained color palette: elements that anticipate the elongated forms and decorative flair that would soon define the Art Nouveau posters of Toulouse-Lautrec.

The paper is toned and shows some mat staining along the extreme edges. There are light fox marks visible in the lighter areas of the paper, for instance at the bottom center, bottom right and in the figure's cape; there is also foxing apparent on the sheet verso. There appears to be some restoration at bottom right in the large hat in foreground, with corresponding ink verso. There is a stray yellow horizontal line in the bridge walkway, approx. 1 in. long. Additional images available upon request.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

To request further details about this lot, please email [email protected]

Raphaël Chatroux

VP, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art

[email protected]267.414.1253

Raphaël Chatroux is the Head of Department for Freeman's Impressionist & Modern Art.

Chatroux joined Freeman’s in 2016 as a Fine Art department intern. Later that year, he was the Samuel M. Freeman II Fellowship recipient and was promoted to cataloguer. Since his arrival, he has developed an expertise for a wide range of American and European art. He worked closely with Chairman Alasdair Nichol on the successful sales of The Collections of Heidi Bigham Stott in 2020 and The Peltz Collection of Pennsylvania Impressionists in 2021. Chatroux is associated with recent world records obtained for artists Cecilia Beaux, Emma Fordyce McRae, and Bo Bartlett. He was also instrumental in the acquisition of a Berthe Morisot oil painting by the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. As a native of France, Chatroux has worked in various art centers in Paris including Hôtel Drouot, where he oversaw auctions of fine wine and good spirits and the Palace of Versailles, where he conceived and curated several bilingual audio-guide tours. Chatroux graduated from Paris-Sorbonne University with a degree in art history; he also holds a master’s degree in art law.

Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Impressionist and Modern Art

Coup de Vent sur le Pont des Saint Pères, c. 1889

Impressionist and Modern Art

Coup de Vent sur le Pont des Saint Pères, c. 1889

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