Lot 145: RENÉ ROUSSEAU-DECELLE

PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

FRENCH, 1881-1964
THE PADDOCK AT ARGENTEUIL (PESAGE AU ARGENTEUIL)

measurements
65 1/4 by 127 1/2 in.

alternate measurements
323.8 by 165.7 cm

signed Rousseau-Decelle and dated 1908 (lower right)

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

Private Collection, Philadelphia, since circa 1910

EXHIBITED

Possibly, Salon, 1908, as Pesage au Argenteuil

NOTE

Réné Rousseau-Decelle specialized in very large paintings of contemporary crowd filled scenes and showed them to acclaim in the Paris Salons. The present work was a success, and was shipped to Philadelphia possibly as early as 1910, where it has remained until now. Two other racing views were painted and exhibited by the artist shortly after this one, and the artist treated other leisure activities as themes in his often large-scale paintings as well. The artist's celebrated Palais de Glace of 1909 depicted a glittering crowd of Belle Époque pleasure seekers, dressed in their finery for a night of indoor ice-skating. The advent of electric lighting and the automobile changed the social possibilities for the beau monde in Paris, allowing ever-further excursions by day and later diversions by night.

In the present work, Pesage au Argenteuil, Rousseau Decelle takes us to the racetrack. Considered a thoroughly modern outing, a day at the races at the turn of the century provided the expanding leisure classes another opportunity to see and be seen, to show off their beautiful wardrobes and perhaps engage in some friendly wagers. The track provided Rousseau-Decelle with just the sort of bustling spectacle which he so excelled at capturing.

The horizon line of the present work is comprised of the dark top hats of the dapper gents, called boulevardiers and flâneurs, who spent most of their time in pursuit of leisure activities. Baudelaire described this new cast of characters in his essay of 1863 "Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne" and might have been describing the present work: "The slim men and women [are] garbed in the eccentric costume authorized by the season, hoisted up on cushions, on seats or on the roof, attending some ceremony of the turf which is going on in the distance"(Charles Baudelaire, Painter of Modern Life, trans. by Jonathan Mayne, London 1965, p. 39).

Rousseau-Decelle was not the first modern French artist to fall under the spell of the racetrack: both Manet and Degas spent time sketching at Longchamps in the Bois de Boulogne outside Paris from the late 1860s, absorbing the atmosphere of the bustling crowds and chic attendees, and according them at least as much, if not more, importance in their compositions as the event of the race itself. Rousseau-Decelle painted views of Longchamps as well as this one of Argenteuil, and here he reminds us of the action of the race still to come, with the far off, sunlit view of the jockeys in bright silks, perched high above the crowds. But for Rousseau-Decelle, the crowd is the principle fascination, and our eye is drawn especially to the women in floral hats and bright colors, in particular the central lady in blue, posed alone and engaging the viewer with her bold, direct gaze and coy half-smile. A little girl with red poppies on her large hat leaves ladylike manners behind, dragging a chair off scene at left. The dappled sunshine leads the eye to the other modern ladies, relaxing with parasols and chatting animatedly.

Rousseau-Decelle was masterful at investing even far off figures in his huge crowd scenes with an impressive range of detailed touches. One of the artist's best known works, painted in 1907, titled Une Séance à la Chambre de Députés, takes as its subject George Clemenceau, a towering political figure of late nineteenth and early twentieth century France giving a speech. Clemenceau began his career as a radical, and his first real claim to fame was publishing the highly controversial J'Accuse by Emile Zola in L'Aurore, the newspaper for which he was publisher. Rousseau-Decelle's painting, now in the collection of the Musée Clemenceau, shows the powerful orator speaking to the assembled masses with great solemnity. The artist included hundreds of people in the scene and the effect is impressive.

It has been suggested that the present work may well include a portrait of Clemenceau among the sportive throng. The man nearest to the work's center, who faces the viewer head on, does resemble Clemenceau, who the artist had painted so compellingly just a year before. The man holds a piece of paper, perhaps a reference to Clemenceau's skills as an orator, or, in a more straightforward interpretation, perhaps as just another spectator reviewing his betting form. The dark gloves worn by the gentleman have a purple cast -- the distinctive type and color of glove always worn by the politician, who suffered acute eczema on his hands. While the Clemenceau museum could not provide any evidence of the politician visiting the racetrack, he was known to be a fine horseman. Sketches in the collection of the artist's family do identify two crowd members who were included in the final work: M. de Bremond and M. Roy. But further identification of individuals within the work is not conclusive.

Whatever the identity of the particular members of this animated scene, the artist has successfully shared his vision of a favorite leisure activity very much in vogue with the upper middle classes at the turn of the last century. This charming painting's multiple focal points bring the viewer directly into the action of a very exciting race day.