Henri Jean Guillaume Martin

(French, 1860-1943)

Un terrassier (A digger)

oil on canvas

signed Henri Martin (lower right)

24 ¼ x 18 ¾ inches.

Property from the Miriam B. Swanson Trust, Chicago, Illinois

This lot will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Marie-Anne Destrebecq-Martin.

Provenance:

Kaplan Gallery, London

Galleries Maurice Sternberg, Chicago

Acquired directly from the above, June 1971

The present painting is associated with Martin's program of decoration for the general assembly room of the Conseil d’Etat, located within the Palais-Royal in Paris. In the 1920s, Martin was commissioned to paint murals for the Conseil d'Etat, a body of the French national government. Four canvases were executed and include allegories of “Agriculture,” represented by scenes of plowing, sowing, and harvesting; for “Commerce,” the port of Marseille; the construction of the Place de la Concorde for “Industry;” and a man walking through a forest with a book in his hand for “Intellectual Work.” The group bears the title of La France laborieuse presenting itself to the Council of State. An almost identical figure to Un terrassier (A digger) can be seen in the "Industry" mural.