Original Oil on Panel by:
Auguste Morisot (French, 1807-1851)
Titled: 'San Fernando de Atabapo'
Signed twice 'AMORISOT' (Lower right and faintly on the upper right) Dated'24' Janvier 1887, San Fernando de Atabapo, Venezuela' (Lower Right) and indistinctly inscribed (At Verso) Labels from Christie's NY at verso.
See the photo of the Christie's description or the copied text below.
Provenance:
Christies, NY (Sale 2747) (Nov. 20 2013)
Estimate: $10-$15,000
CIRCA: 1887
ORIGIN: France
DIMENSIONS: (Panel) H: 8.74 x L: 12.638 in.
Framed: 14" x 17"
Christie's Description:
Auguste Morisot
Title San Fernando de Atabapo
Description signed twice 'AMORISOT' (lower right and faintly on the upper right) dated '24 Janvier 1887 San
Fernando de Atabapo, Vénézuéla' (lower right) and indistinctly inscribed (on the reverse)
oil on wood
8¾ x 12 5/8 in. (22.2 x 32.1 cm.)
Painted in 1887.
We are grateful to Álvaro A. García-Castro for his assistance cataloguing this work.
In 1886, the classically-trained French artist Auguste Morisot ventured to Venezuela along with the
explorer Jean Chaffanjon on a mission to discover the source of the Orinoco River. Sent by the
French Minister of Public Instruction, the two were the first European adventurers to the region in
almost one hundred years. During the year he spent in the Venezuelan Delta, Morisot kept an
illustrated journal and produced many en plein air sketches that later served as the basis for his
finished oil paintings of the region. The present lot is most likely inspired by two drawings and one
watercolor now in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. While based on his first-hand
knowledge of the area, Morisot also indulged in artistic license; as the inscription makes clear
there were actually no horses in the area. The inscribed date indicates that the painting relates to
Morisot's and Chaffanjon's return from their supposed discovery of the source of the Orinoco when
they stayed for the second time at the home of Don Manuel Mirabal, one of the most important
businessmen in the Venezuelan Amazonian Territory
Medium oil on wood
Year of Work 1887
Size Height 8.7 in.; Width 12.6 in. / Height 22.2 cm.; Width 32.1 cm.
Misc. Signed, Inscribed
Sale of Christie's New York: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 [Lot 00139]
Latin American Art
Estimate 10,000 - 15,000 USD