Georges Petit Gallery

 

Please do not quote from this webpage, which is under construction.
The information is incomplete and maybe partly incorrect.

 

Meta-Impressionism / Other Exhibitions

Georges Petit Gallery

an alternative art-dealer

 

Introduction:
For several ‘impressionists’ around the mid 1880s the art-dealer Georges Petit became an alternative for the art-dealer Durand-Ruel. For some the Exposition International de peinture et de sculpture held at the Georges Petit gallery, became an alternative for their own ‘impressionist’ expositions.

 

General info on the Georges Petit gallery:
Georges Petit had a gallery at 8, Rue de Sèze in Paris. It started 1877. The predecessing gallery of his grandfather (starting around 1848) and of his father showed paintings of Delacroix, Corot and the Barbizon school and also of Bonvin, Ricard and Ribot. The gallery seems to have been luxerious (R1,p481). In 1880 Georges Petit started buying and selling works of the ‘impressionists’. 1882 onwards he organized with Giuseppe de Nittis yearly exhibitions called Exposition International de peinture et de sculpture (R3;R5,p129). For some partakers of the ‘impressionist’ expositions, these Expositions Internationale were an alternative for there own exhibitions. 1885 onwards the exhibitions of the Société des Pastellist Français were organised at the Petit gallery. In the 1880s there was a hard rivalry between the art-dealers Georges Petit and Durand-Ruel. Monet deliberately chose to do buisiness with both dealers. Petit probably made promises of further acquisitions on condition that the artists did reappear at the Salon (R3,p230+349;R1,p515+419+434) From 1900 till 1922 the Société Nouvelle de Peintres et de Sculpteurs held almost all their exhibitions at the Georges Petit gallery (R297,p346/7). There also had been exhibitions held at the Georges Petit gallery of  ‘La Société de la gravure en couleurs’ (R88) and (1895? onwards) of La Société des Miniaturistes et Enlumineurs (aR3=iR26). Petit also (co-)organised solo or small group exhibitions. There were also auctions held at his gallery. On this page you will find overviews. In 1907 the gallery went into the hands of the painter Prins. The gallery stopped in 1933 (aR3).
Note: the date of birth and death of Georges Petit is obscure. Some sources state that he was born in 1835 (R3,p686) others 1856 (aR3). Some sources state that he died in 1900/07/04 (R5,p228;R3,p686), others in 1920 (aR3;R88I,p648).

 

The ‘impressionists’ and Durand-Ruel, connections and purchases, a chronological overview:

  • 1878: at the Hoschedé sale Georges Petit had bought 3 works of Monet (R1,p434)
  • 1880/01: Petit bought 3 works of Monet; a still life for 500fr and 2 snow scenes for 300fr (R1,p434)
  • Sisley had signed a contact with Petit, making hem the sole art-dealer for his work (R1,p576)

 

Chronological overview of exhibitions at the Georges Petit gallery:
Note: you will find a seperate page on the Exposition International de peinture et de sculpture.

  • 1884/05/24 – 07/24: exhibition with works of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815-91) (aR3=iR26)
    PDF catalogue: ia903406.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1884/12/14: the exhibition called ‘Sports in art’ included two works of Degas (depicting horse rases) (R5,p140).
  • 1886/12: there was an exhibition with works of Whistler (R5,p150).
  • 1889: from June till July there was a large exhibition called Monet-Rodin, it included 145 works of Monet rendering a large retrospective (R22IV,p1017;R1,p551)
    (PDF catalogue ia902200.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1889/04/30 posthumous exhibition of works of Sisley organised by Monet (R5,p223)
  • 1891: exhibition of book illustrations (aR4=iR40), It included:
    Mme Bracquemond: no. 680, Dizain de femmes (illustration for Victor Hugo: Les Chansons des Rues et des Bois, Livre I)
    Raffaëlli: no.1268-1285 (illustrations for Victor Hugo: Le dernier jour d’un condamné)
  • 1892: retrospective of Pissarro (R88)
  • 1892: retrospective of Renoir (R88)
  • 1893/06: Portraits des écrivains et journalistes du siècle, including works of Monet (1x) (R22IV,p1017+CR78).
  • 1895?: start of yearly exhibitions of La Société des Miniaturistes et Enlumineurs (aR3=iR26)
  • 1897: large retrospective of Sisley (R88;R3,p341)
  • 1898/06/03: Monet had a successful solo exhibition in June and July, it included 61 paintings (R22IV,p1018;R5,p216)
  • 1899/02/16 – 03/08: Tableaux par Besnard, Cazin, C. Monet, Sisley, Thaulow, including 14? works of Monet.
    (R22IV,p1018+CR65 +132 +200 +?279 +?726 +?763 +1032 +1177 +1179 +1192 +1275 +1317 or 1318 +1333 +?1473)
  • 1899/04/30: posthumous exhibition of Sisley organised by Monet; it included donated art-works of other artists; the profit, 115.640fr, was for Sisley’s children (R5,p222/3;R88)
  • 1900-22: the exhibitions of the Société Nouvelle de Peintres et de Sculpteurs mostly were held at the Georges Petit gallery (R297,p346/7)
  • 1906: large posthumous exhibition with 209 works of Gustave Moreau (catalogue at gallica.bnf.fr/bd6t53713854=iR40)
  • 1909: large retrospective of Raffaëlli with 2021 canvasses (R88)
  • 1912: exhibition with 81 works of Albert Besnard called Voyage aux Indes (catalogue at gallica.bnf.fr/bpt6k3191392 =iR40)
  • 1918/01/12 – 31: exhibition of works of Lebourg (catalogue: ia601201.us.archive.org; =iR19)

 

Chronological overview of auctions at the Georges Petit gallery:
Here I will mention auctions that have been held at the Georges Petit gallery of important collections. When available, you will find links to the catalogues on the page on the art-collectors and artists.

  • 1889/07/01 – 04: posthumous auction of the collection of (the widow of) Victor Chocquet; it included works of Cézanne (35x), Monet (12x), Pissarro, Renoir (14x), Sisley and also of Manet (5x) (R5,p223/4)
  • 1891/06/11+12: sale collection Johw Lewis Brown (PDF catalogue: ia802805.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1894: auction of the collection of Duret (R88)
  • 1897/05/10: sale collection widow Paul Aubry (PDF catalogue: ia600306.us.archive.org; =iR19;iR6)
  • 1899/05/08+09: sale collection Armand Doria, tome II, aquarelles et pastels (PDF catalogue: ia800409.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1900/05/30 – 06/02: Auction sale Atelier Rosa Bonheur, Tome I, tableaux; preface M.L. Roger-Milès. (DPF catalogue: ia600907.us.archive.org; =iR19)
    1900/06/05-08: Auction sale Atelier Rosa Bonheur, Tome II, aquarelles et dessins. Paris, 1900. (DPF catalogue: ia803204.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1901/05/10: Auction sale C. de Hèle at Georges Petit, including works of Boudin and others (PDF catalogue: ia800902.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1905/05: the collection of Paul Berard is auctioned (R5,p230)
  • 1906: widow M.F. Stumpf collection (aR3=iR26)
  • 1907/05/06+07: auction sale studio Fritz Thaulow (PDF catalogue: ia801705.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1908/05/02: sale 31 peintures de J.Ch. Cazin (PDG catalogue: ia601003.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1911/06/02 + 03: sale collection Jules Breton (PDF catalogue: ia600905.us.archive.org; =iR19)
  • 1918 + 1919: 4 posthumous auctions of the collection of Edgar Degas (iR40).
  • 1919/07/09: sale collection studio Gustave Courbet (PDF catalogue: ia801000.us.archive.org; =iR19)

 

Sources:
My main sources are the catalogues raisonnée of Monet (R22IV,p1016+), of Pissarro (R116); catalogues of Renoir (R31), Sisley (R166). Other main sources are Rewald (R1), Moffett (R2), Walther (R3,p686), Denvir (R5), Monneret (R88I,p648/9), archive.org (iR19), data.bnf (iR26=aR2+3), gallica.bnf (iR40), the Metropolitan (=M23=R232=iR270=aR1) and the additional references. For other general references (=R) see. For other references to internet sites (=iR) see.
See links for practical hints and abbreviations and for the subscription of the paintings.

For further reading:
Sanchez, Pierre: Les expositions de la Galerie Georges Petit, 1881-1934. Dijon, 2011.

 

Additional references:

  1. archive.org/details/metmuseumlibraries//galerie_Georges_Petit//date (Overview catalogues per date, starting 1884 =iR270 =R232)
  2. data.bnf.fr/georges_petit: (info relating to Georges Petit; =iR26)
  3. data.bnf.fr/12163081 (basic info on the gallery and Georges Petit + an overview of catalogues, sometimes including links; =iR26)
  4. gallica.bnf.fr/bd6t5395298w (Catalogue illustré de l’exposition pour l’illustration in 1891; =iR40)
  5. ia601304.us.archive.org (Catalogue with etchings of works in the Georges Petit gallery; =iR19)
  6. x

 

Recommanded citation: Meta-Impressionism / other exhibitions: The Georges Petit gallery; an alternative art-dealer. Last modified 2023/06/02.  https://www.impressionism.nl/georges-petit-gallery/”

Note: additional info and  pictures will be added.