Emile FRIANT - Lot 81

Emile FRIANT (Dieuze 1863 - Paris 1932) Engagement Panel 47 x 30 cm Signed and dated lower left E. Friant 95 Provenance : Collection of the Countess of Béarn in 1900 (with a probable purchase in Bordeaux in 1898). Exhibitions : Salon de la Société Lorraine des Amis des Arts, Nancy, 1895, n°139 ; Salon de la Société des Amis des Arts, Bordeaux, 1898, n°259 ; Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1896, no. 552; Carnegie Art Galleries, Pittsburgh, 1896 (probably the origin of some of the rear labels); Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles, Brussels, 1897, no. 172; Exposition décennale, Paris, 1900, no. 800; Salon de la Société des Artistes Français, Paris, 1922, no. 737 (to Madame la Comtesse de Béarn). Bibliography: "La Lorraine au Salon du Champs-de-Mars", L'Est Républicain, May 25, 1890; M. E., Le Progrès de l'Est, November 5, 1895; C. de Meixmoron de Dombasle, "Emile Friant", Mémoires de l'Académie de Stanislas, Nancy, 1896, pp.326 and 328; E. Hinzelin, "L'art en Lorraine. Emile Friant", La Lorraine Artiste, June 1, 1899, p.49-p.64, p.53 ; Ch-E. Curinier, Dictionnaire national des contemporains, tome III, Paris, 1899-1905, p.253 ; M. Toussaint, "Nos maîtres Lorrains. Emile Friant", Les Marches de l'Est, August 15, 1910, pp.409-418 and p.412; A. Alexandre "Friant", in Edouard-Joseph, Dictionnaire biographique des artistes contemporains. 1910-1930, tome II, Paris, 1931, pp. 69-82, reproduced p.80 ; M. Garcot, "Emile Friant", Revue lorraine illustrée, 1931, pp.65-84 and p.77; R. d'Avril, "Emile Friant. Comment l'ont jugé - et bien jugé - deux de ses compatriotes lorrains", L'Eclair de l'Est, June 12, 1932; Amis d'Emile Friant (les), Les discours sur la tombe d'Emile Friant, impression sur souscription, 1933, p.66 ; M. Cordier, "L'atelier de Friant", Les demeures où ils vécurent... en Lorraine, Sarreguemines, 1981, reproduced p.57; Catalog of the exhibition Emile Friant (1863-1932). Regard sur l'homme et l'œuvre, musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy (July 8, 1988 - October 4, 1988), Nancy, 1988 p.26. Catalog of the exhibition Peinture et Art nouveau: l'école de Nancy, musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy (April 24 - July 26, 1999), Paris, 1999, p.88, p.89, p.145, p.150. H. Claude, Emile Friant, Metz, 2005, pp.116 and 132; Catalog of the exhibition Emile Friant. Un nouveau regard, Musée Georges-de-La-Tour de Vic-sur-Seille (June 10 - September 3, 2006), Metz, 2006, p.12, p.13 ; G. Weisberg, "Emile Friant, in an international and American context", Salon America Journal, Spring 2007, vol. 1, n°1 ; Catalog of the exhibition Emile Friant (1863-1932), le dernier naturaliste?, musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy (November 4, 2016 - February 27, 2017), Paris, 2016, p.141 (ill. p.190 with an early photograph) ; L. Stasi, Martine de Béhague, comtesse de Béarn (1870-1939) le mécène oublié, La Courneuve, 2021, p.478. A naturalist painter from Lorraine, Emile Friant made his name with his prize-winning painting La Toussaint, exhibited at the 1889 Paris Salon and purchased by the French government (Musée d'Orsay, on deposit at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy). His style is characterized by great sensitivity in the presentation of the models and great elegance in the narration of the subject, which earned him worldwide renown in his day. Here we see a young engaged couple whose attitudes betray a sense of embarrassment towards each other. The scene is probably set in the painter's studio in rue de Thionville, Nancy. This background can be found in other works by the artist. The models can also be found in his painted work, notably the young man in a study kept at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy for the painting Les Jours Heureux (1895). The Nancy museum also holds a preparatory study for this painting (b/w, 55.8 x 39.4 cm, from the artist's studio collection, exhibited in Nancy in 2016). It's interesting to see a different approach by this young couple between the study and the final work. The work is very delicate in terms of the feeling that should emerge from the panel. A study of the young girl's dress is held in a private collection. A masterpiece of delicacy, this panel was exhibited many times during the artist's lifetime, from the moment it was painted in 1895. We would like to thank Jean-Sébastien Bertrand, doctoral student on Emile Friant, for confirming the autograph nature of the work and helping to write this notice. We would also like to thank the Association Émile Friant (A.E.F.) for the information they provided. The painting is included in the Catalogue Raisonné of Emile Friant's work.