Lot 52: ESTEBAN CHARTRAND (1824-1884)

ESTEBAN CHARTRAND (1824-1884) ATARDECER (SUNSET) signed and dated 1874 lower center oil on canvas 17 by 29 in. 43.2 by 73.7 cm

Mr Ignacio Joaristi Lanzagorta, Madrid
Thence by descent to the present owners

Esteban Sebastian Chartrand Dubois was born 1840 in the province of Matanzas, Cuba. Chartrand, whose family wealth derived from the sugar industry and had active business interests in the southern United States, was actively encouraged to paint and traveled to France in 1854 and again in 1864 to further his studies. While in Europe he was greatly influenced by the teachings of Theodore Rousseau and the Barbizon School of landscape painting.

Upon returning to Cuba, Chartrand reinterpreted the romantic atmospheric style of the Barbizon School in the context of the tropical light and landscapes of the Caribbean. During his short lifetime, Chartrand became a highly respected artist, exhibiting both in Cuba and the United States, including the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Esteban and his brothers, Philippe and Augusto, formed the most important dynasty of Cuban landscape painters of the nineteenth century.