Lot 68: Esteban Chartrand (1824-1884) , Paisaje con Campesinos

oil on canvas signed and dated 1882 lower left

measurements 15 7/8 by 12 3/4 in. alternate measurements (40.3 by 32.4 cm)

Richard William Chaplin and Lavinia Christine Chartand, Charleston (acquired from the artist)
Robert Chaplin, Charleston
Thence by descent to the present owner

Esteban Sebastian Chartrand Dubois was born in 1840 in the province of Matanzas, Cuba. Chartrand, whose family wealth derived from the sugar industry and had 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 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 August, formed the most important dynasty of Cuban landscape painters of the nineteenth century.