Impressionism, a historical reconstruction:

Henri Rouart (1833 – 1912)

an impression of his collection

 

 

Introduction:
Henri Rouart not only was a painter and an industrialist, but also a collector of paintings, see the main page. His house was filled with excellent paintings. Degas and others agreed this was the best art-collection they had ever seen (R47,p52+102). After his death their was in December 1912 a large auction of his vast collection. In 1913 there was another auction. What paintings of which artists did he collect? On this page we will give an impression of the collection he gathered through his life. Our main source is the catalogue of the 1912 auction by Arsène Alexander (aR10=R45, see). For the general references see. For references to internet pages (=iR) see. For the other additional references (=aR) see at the bottom of the main page of Henri Rouart. But first we will look at the loans of Rouart for the ‘impressionist’ expositions. My main source for this is Moffett (R2) and of Berson (R90II).

 

Appartient à M. Rouart, 1874-86:
Here I will render the loans of Rouart given to the ‘impressionist’ expositions. When something else is rendered than ‘appartient à M. Rouart’ I will render it. The main source I use is the catalogue of Moffett (R2) and that of Berson (R90II). You will see that probably Rouart did loan 10 works. I will also render if this work was auctioned in 1912 (R45).

• 1IE-1874-38, Cals: Vieux Pêcheur, appartient à M. R… (R2,p120)
  R1912: Cals, Le Vieux Pêcheur, 115x89cm (R45)
• 1IE-1874-56, Degas, Intérieur de Coulisse
  Moffett writes it was destroyed by Degas (R2,p120). Still in 1912 their was a pastel with a similar title: Dans la coulisse, 66x38cm (R45). For actual info of this work see Christies.com . Christies estimates Degas made this pastel around 1882-85 (iR15).
• 3IE-1877-50, Degas, Bains de mer; Petite fille peignée sur sa bonne, appartient à M.H.R… (R2,p204)
  R1912: Sur la plage; peinture à l’essence; 48x82cm (R45)
• 4IE-1879-38, Cals, La Grand’mère; appartient à M. R… (R2,p267)
  perhaps R1912: Cals, 1871, Paysanne et enfant, 35x27cm (R45)
• 4IE-1879-39, Cals, jeune femme avec son petit enfant; appartient à M. R. (R2,p267)
  probably R1912: Cals, 1877, la mère et l’enfant, 35x27cm (R45)
• 4IE-1879-42, Cals, Le dimanche à Saint-Siméon, Honfleur (dessin) ; appartient à Mme R…
  Note: probably a loan of Mme Henri Rouart. Compare: 1876, Le Dimanche à Saint-Siméon, 54×82 (R45,p68)
• 4IE-1879-50, Cassatt, Tête de jeune fille; appartient à M. R. (R2,p267)
  If this one was in the possession of Rouart, it was not in the 1912 catalogue
• 4IE-1879-66, Degas: Ecole de danse; appartient à M. R… (R2,p268)
  R1912, La répétition de danse, 46x60cm (R45)
• 4IE-1879-79, Degas, éventail, appartient à Mme H.R. (R2,p268)
  there was no fan mentioned in the 1912 catalogue (R45)
• 4IE-1879-142, Monet, Fleurs; appartient à M. R… (R2,p269)
  There was not a work with flowers of Monet in the 1912 catalogue (R45). Wildenstein (R22,CR139) affirms Rouart bought this work in 1878, but in 1904 it belonged to Rosenberg.
• 6IE-1881-81, Pissarro, Une rue à Lower Norwood (enivrons de Londres) (R2,p355)
  perhaps: R1912: Pissarro, 1870, La Grande Route, 38x45cm (R45)

 

Works bought by Henri Rouart at auctions:
At the Hôtel Drouot auction in 1875 (R87,p252):

• Monet, Bassin du commerce (Havre)
• Monet: Soleil levant (marine)
• Morisot: Chalet au bord de la mer
• Morisot: Sur la plage (aquarelle)
• Renoir: Tête de femme

At the Hoschedé sale 1874/01/113 (R87,p252):

• Degas: Les courses à Longchamp (la tribune des courses 1a Longchamp)

 

Exhibited works in the Henri Rouart collection 1874-86:
I now will render the works that were exhibited at the ‘impressionist’ expositions and that maybe later were part of the Henri Rouart collection. I will also render if this work was auctioned in 1912 (R45).

• 1IE-1874-41, Cals: Fileuse
  Probably R1912: Cals, 1860, La Fileuse, 40×31 (R45,p69)
• 2IE-1876-31, Cals: Cour à Honfleur
  Compare: ‘Intérieur d’une cour’ (R45,p69)
• 2IE-1876-33, Cals: Portrait de Mme X… (dessin)
  Maybe?: 18xx, Femme assisse, dessin, 19×15 (R45,p114)
• 3IE-1877-14, Cals: Femme couchée, étude
  Compare: 1876/04/24, Femme se reposant, dr, 23×24 (R45,p114)
• 3IE-1877-16, Cals: Jeune femme, le matin
  Maybe??: 1857, scène d’intérieur, 40×31 (R45,p68)
• 6IE-1881-hc, Cals: unknown title
  Maybe??: 1876, Le Dimanche à Saint-Siméon, 54×82 (R45,p68)

 

Old masters 1912:
In the catalogue of Arsène Alexander of 1912 (aR10/R45) there were 77 oil paintings of 67 old masters. There were 4 works of El Greco (b.1548), 3 of Prud’hon (b.1758), 3 of Tiepolo (b.1692), 2 of Champaigne (b.1602), 2 of Fragonard (b.1732), 2 of Granet (b.1775). At least 29 of them were portraits, 22 religious / biblical themes, 5 landscapes and 1 mythological theme. Probably there were also works of Jan Steen auctioned that weren’t in the catalogue (R45,p7+16).

 

Tableaux modernes 1912:
Under the name of ’tableaux modernes’ there were 207 paintings auctioned in 1912 of 43 artists (R45). At least 63 were landscapes and 38 portraits. There were 14 works of Daumier and 12 works of Delacroix. Rouart had a large collection of  78 Barbizon paintings (38% of the whole), containing no less than 47 works of Corot, 14 of Millet, 6 of Isabey, 4 of Rousseau, 2 of Chintreuil, 2 of Diaz, 2 of Dupré and 1 of Troyon.
Of the 56+2-1=57 artists who joined the ‘impressionist’ expositions Rouart had collected paintings of 13 of them: 12 of Lépine, 8 of Cals, 5 of Cézanne, 5 of Degas, 5 of Monet, 5 of Pissarro, 4 of Boudin, 3 of Colin, 3 of Renoir, 2 of Forain, 1 of Cassatt, 1 of Gauguin and 1 of Morisot. Sisley is mentioned in the introduction, together with Monet, Renoir and Pissarro (R45,p14+41), but there was no work of him mentioned in the catalogue. So in total there were 55 paintings of Impressionists mentioned in the catalogue, which is 27% of all ’tableaux modernes’. A picture of Degas (Les Danseuses à la barre) was soled for 478.000 (R5,p235) or 430.000 francs (R3,p372). There were also works of related painters: 7 of Jongkind, 8 of Courbet, 4 of Fatin-Latour, 3 of Manet, 1 of Toulouse-Lautrec.

 

Dessins et pastels 1912:
Under the title ‘dessins et pastels’ there were 297 works auctioned in 1912 of 54 artists. Most of them portraits (at least 105), furthermore 64 landscapes and 28 mythological themes. The most important artists were: Delacroix (64 works), Millet (58), Daumier (34).  Only 7 of these artists joined the ‘impressionist’ expositions showing just a total of 20 works (8 of Degas).  There were 36 artists showing 185 dessins / drawings. Millet showed 45 dessins (landscapes, portraits and religieus themes). Delacroix 38 mostly portraits. Daumier 14 mostly portraits. Corot 14 dessins (mostly landscapes and portraits). Heim (b.1787) 13 portraits. Rousseau 9 dessins (mostly landscapes). There were just 7 artists showing 19 pastels (8 of Degas). And there were 22 artists showing 84 aquarelles / watercolours. So it’s strange this chapter of the catalogue isn’t called ‘dessins et aquarelles’. There were 22 aquarelles of Delacroix  (mostly portraits and landscapes), 20 of Daumiers (13 of them portraying mythological gods) and 10 landscapes of Jongkind. There were 6 artists showing 15 works in other or mixed techniques. 8 of them were of Millet. (Note: some catalogue titles contained more than one works, sometimes and a drawing and a watercolour. That’s why counting you’ll have 303 works instead of 297.) His collection of sculptures wasn’t auctioned in 1912 (R45,p25).

 

The reproductions 1912:
In the catalogue of 1912 their are no less than 100 reproductions of the 576 works. Some titles of the reproductions are (slightly) different from the titles used in the catalogue. But as far as I can see 8 of the reproductions are not mentioned in the catalogue (=hors catalogue = hc). There are no less than 13 reproductions of Degas (1hc), 2 of Cals, 2 of Cassatt, 1 of Cézanne, 1 of Gauguin, 1 of Lépine, 2 of Monet, 2 of Pissarro, 2 of Renoir and 2 of Rouart himself who isn’t mentioned in the catalogue at all. This makes a total of 28 of the artist who joined the ‘impressionist’ expositions. There are also 9 reproductions of Millet (3hc), 6 of Jongkind, 5 of Corot, 3 of Delacroix, 3 of Prud’hon.

Summary:
The catalogue of 1912 consisted in total of 576 works, but there were also several works auctioned that were outside the catalogue (hc). Most of them were from Delacroix (12 oil painting and 64 other techniques = 76 works), than Millet (14+58=72), Corot (47+15=62) and Daumier (14+34=48). Just a 13% belonged to the artists that joined the ‘impressionist’ expositions (55+20=75). Still most of the reproductions were works of the Impressionists. At least 172 of all the works were portraits / figure paintings and 132 landscapes. There were just a few still-lives and interieurs. Religious / biblical scenes and mythological themes were in the minority. So I think the suggestion that the collection contained 285 ‘impressionist’ works (aR4) is not just.

 

Impressionist works of Monet:
There were 5 works auctioned in 1912 of Monet:
1.    Matinée dans le port du Havre (1873; bought at Drouot 1875; R22,CR262).
2.    Les Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil (1872, R22,CR221).
3.    Effet d’hiver à Argenteuil (1875, R22,CR353; see above)
4.    Le Pavé de Chailly dans la forêt de Fontainebleau (1865, R22,CR57).
5.    Le Champ de foire (Eng.: the fairground; 1872, R22,CR241)
In 1875 at Drouot Rouart also bought ‘Le bassin du commerce, le Havre’ which he later soled (1874, R22,CR294).
Another work bought in 1878 and later sold was ‘Les fleurs’, see above 4IE-1879-142 (1869, R22,CR139).

 

 

Recommanded citation: “An impression of the Henri Rouart collection. Last modified 2021/07/16.  https://www.impressionism.nl/rouart-collection/.