MONTICELLI Adolphe (1824-1886)

"Arlesiennes, the conciliabule"

Oil on panel,
Signed lower right,
ca 1870/1871,

Handwritten annotation on the back of the panel: On the back of the panel under the signature of Mr. JOSEPH Vigne, mayor of Salon: “This panel was painted by MONTICELLI when he lived in the Maison Aufroy Bernard, boulevard Saint-Laurent number 1, in Salon (Bouches-du-Rhône), during the winter of 1870-1871”.

Origin :
  • Offered by the artist during the winter of 1870/1871 to Mr JOSEPH Vigne, mayor of Salon de Provence (annotated on the back of the panel)
  • Collection of Mr Doctor Mireur
  • Sale of the collection of Mr Doctor Mireur: 88 paintings by the painter Adolphe MONTICELLI to finance his Dictionary of Art Sales. Lot No. 47 “Arlésiennes”: 200 francs - (label on the back)
  • Mildred Anna Williams Collection (1873-1939)
  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: California Palace the Legion Of Honor (label on the back and French customs stamp.
  • Private collection 

Exposure : Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: California Palace the Legion Of Honor

The authenticity of the work was confirmed by the expert Mr. Marc STAMMEGNA, after a visual examination.

This work by the painter Adolphe MONTICELLI , produced during the winter of 1870-1871 in Salon de Provence, depicts a rare subject for the artist, namely the Arlesian women. In fact, only a few of the artist's paintings address this theme. The artist offers us here a gathering of six Arlesiennes at Salon in their coquettish picturesque costumes.
The artist, through his mastery of technique, mixes impasto and lightness, without forgetting his total mastery of light to give poetry to his work.


From a family of Italian origin, Adolphe MONTICELLI was a pupil of the painter Augustin Aubert at the free drawing school in Marseille. In September 1846 he was awarded first prize for a live model. He subsequently worked in Béziers, Toulouse and Nîmes. The painter also stayed in Paris on several occasions. The first time, in 1847, he enrolled in the studio of the painter paul Delaroche and studied at the Louvre. The second time, in 1856, he met Delacroix, Daubigny, Corot, Troyon who held him in high esteem. It was at this time that Adolphe MONTICELLI met the painter Narcisse Diaz de la Pena and discovered Barbizon.
His successes under the Second Empire were confirmed. Due to the siege of Paris, the Franco-German War and the fall of the Second Empire, in September 1870, he returned on foot to his hometown of Marseille. During his various stops on his way back to Provence, the artist was welcomed "as a reward for his hospitality, with portraits, in charcoal or graphite." Our work was created and offered by the artist in thanks for the hospitality he received at the Maison Aufroy Bernard in Salon, during the winter of 1870/1870. 
Upon his arrival in Marseille, the artist found himself misunderstood by his compatriots. 
He ended his life in poverty before dying of hemiplegia.

This magnificent painter, this lordly visionary, died in a miserable room furnished with a bed, an easel and two chairs; but a red curtain, floating in front of the window, represented for him all the illusion and magic of light.

Dimensions : 22 x 47.5 cm without frame and 35 x 65.5 cm with its original gilded wooden frame. 

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From a family of Italian origin, Adolphe MONTICELLI was a pupil of the painter Augustin Aubert at the free drawing school in Marseille. In September 1846 he was awarded first prize for a live model. He subsequently worked in Béziers, Toulouse and Nîmes. The painter also stayed in Paris on several occasions. The first time, in 1847, he enrolled in the studio of the painter paul Delaroche and studied at the Louvre. The second time, in 1856, he met Delacroix, Daubigny, Corot, Troyon who held him in high esteem. It was at this time that Adolphe MONTICELLI met the painter Narcisse Diaz de la Pena and discovered Barbizon. His successes under the Second Empire were confirmed. Due to the siege of Paris, the Franco-German War and the fall of the Second Empire, in September 1870, he returned on foot