Émile René MÉNARD (Paris, 1862 - 1930) The Two Bathers Pastel Monogrammed 'MRE' lower right Bears a label 'Les 2 Baigneuses N° 58 bis catal. / Vente Atelier 12.XII.73 H.D.' on verso Bears the number 29 on the reverse mount 45 x 64 cm Provenance: Sale of the studio of Émile-René Ménard (1862-1930); Paris, Me Claude Robert, 12 December 1973, no. 58 bis (as Les Deux Baigneuses) ; Acquired at this sale by Gérard Lévy; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent René Ménard was a perfectionist artist, attached to a certain atmospheric and sensitive aesthetic of the landscape. He constantly worked on the same motifs, always recomposed, sometimes in oil, sometimes in pastel, in search of a harmonious balance between figure and nature. Our two works evoke his ideal world in luminous tones that the pastel brings to life. Ménard reflects both the influence of Poussin and that of his many travels, in Italy, Greece and the Near East. His taste for Parnassian aesthetics and the monumentality that marked his grand decors, in the tradition of Puvis de Chavannes, are also apparent. Émile René MÉNARD (Paris, 1862 - 1930) 45 x 64 cm