Eugène DELACROIX (Paris 1798-1863) Trees by a pond in a park, circa 1850 Pastel Trees near water in a park, pastel, by E. Delacroix 9.05 x 12.40 in. 23 x 31.5 cm Provenance: Sale of the artist's studio; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 1864, part of lot no. 605 or 606, wax stamp on verso of lining; Maurice Gobin Collection (1883-1962); Then by descent; Private collection, Ile-de-France Exhibitions: Eugène Delacroix, Exposition du Centenaire, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 1930, n° 680 Delacroix et ses amis, Paris, Atelier de Delacroix, 1932, no. 52 (as "Le parc d'Augerville") Pastel français du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, Paris, 1933, no. 75 Delacroix, Paris, Galerie Maurice Gobin, 1937, no. 84, repr. (as "Parc de Valmont") Bibliography: Raymond Escholier, Delacroix, Paris, 1943, Floury bookshop, vol. II, repr. between pp. 288 and 289, as "Le Parc". Charles Martine, Léon Marotte, Delacroix, Paris, éditions Helleu et Sergent, pl. 70 Lee Johnson, Delacroix Pastels, London, 1995, John Murray publishers, p. 161, no. 48, repr. At the crossroads of Romanticism and Impressionism, this pastel seems strangely alive with its bold brushwork. Nature is depicted with a nostalgic note, like the weeping willow with its long locks brushing the water like a long vibrato line on a cello. "The true painter is the one who knows all of nature", wrote Delacroix in his Journal on 10 March 1850. The spontaneity of the pastel was perfectly suited to his chromatic research, combined with his need for a rustic and harmonious nature. Here, the range of greens highlighted by a few red and white dots of blossom is strongly reminiscent of the landscape of Trees in a Park in the old David-Weill collection1. This landscape was associated with Delacroix's stay in 1856 with a first cousin, Commandant Philogène Delacroix, at his estate at Ante, near Sainte-Menehould in the Meuse department. The place is traditionally located at Valmont, his cousins' property, where Delacroix went for the last time in October 1849 (previous stays in 1829, 1831 and 1840). Lee Johnson does not rule out the possibility that this was another garden on the properties that Delacroix visited during his stays in the countryside. Is it Augerville at the home of his cousin the lawyer Berryer, Valmont, Champrosay, Nohant at the home of George Sand? In any case, we are with Delacroix in front of this tamed nature that he frequented with assiduity and pleasure as soon as he could escape Paris to find the necessary breathing space of the city-dweller. 1. See Arlette Sérullaz, Vincent Pomarède, Joseph J.Rishel (dir.), Delacroix les dernières années, cat. exp. Paris, Grand Palais, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1998-1999, no. 43, repr. Eugène DELACROIX (Paris 1798-1863) 23 x 31.5 cm At the crossroads of Romanticism and Impressionism, this pastel seems strangely alive with its bold brushstrokes. Nature is depicted with a nostalgic note, like the weeping willow with its long locks brushing the water like a long train of cello vibrato. "The true painter is the one who knows all of nature", wrote Delacroix in his Journal on 10 March 1850. The spontaneity of the pastel was perfectly suited to his chromatic research, combined with his need for a rustic and harmonious nature. Here, the range of greens highlighted by a few red and white dots of blossom is strongly reminiscent of the landscape of Trees in a Park in the old David-Weill collection1. This landscape had been associated with Delacroix's stay in 1856 with a first cousin, Commandant Philogène Delacroix, at his estate at Ante, near Sainte-Menehould in the Meuse department. The place is traditionally located at Valmont, his cousins' property, where Delacroix went for the last time in October 1849 (previous stays in 1829, 1831 and 1840). Lee Johnson does not rule out the possibility that this was another garden on the properties that Delacroix visited during his stays in the countryside. Is it Augerville at the home of his cousin the lawyer Berryer, Valmont, Champrosay, Nohant at the home of George Sand? In any case, we are with Delacroix in front of this tamed nature that he frequented with assiduity and pleasure as soon as he could escape Paris to find the necessary breathing space of the city-dweller. 1. See Arlette Sérullaz, Vincent Pomarède, Joseph J.Rishel (dir.), Delacroix les dernières années, cat. exp. Paris, Grand Palais, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1998-1999, no. 43, repr.