HENRI-JEAN GUILLAUME MARTIN (1860-1943)
La Route du Village (St. Cirq Lapopie)
signed 'Henri Martin.' (lower center)
oil on canvas
32 3/16 x 39 1/4 in (81.7 x 99.7 cm)
Footnotes:
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Marie-Anne Destrebecq-Martin.

Provenance
Kaplan Gallery, London.
Hammer Galleries, New York.
Harry Cohen Collection, Montreal (acquired circa 1960).
Thence by descent to the present owner.


The present scene depicts Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a village in south-western France perched high on a cliff overlooking the Lot River. Recognized for its picturesque beauty, the village is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association. Henri Martin bought a house there in 1911 and is commonly credited with 'discovering' the village, which soon became a popular destination for artists and writers with its narrow streets, timber-framed buildings and mullion windows. Indeed, the artist's former house and studio at Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is now known as the 'Poet House' or the 'House of André Breton' after Martin's son sold the house to the Surrealist poet in 1951.

The current view is painted from Martin's atelier. The meandering incline of the street and sloping pitch of the rooftops give rise to the beautiful intersecting angles and planes of the composition, while the compressed space and lack of horizon give the work an intensely modern feel. The artist skillfully exploits the divisionist technique, working with distinct brushstrokes that are thickly layered and tightly juxtaposed, while also retaining a certain classicism in the realistic treatment of the background.

The canvas is lined. Light frame rubbing to the lower left corner. Vertical lines of hairline craquelure to the left center edge and a tiny area of localized hairline craquelure in the grey pigment located within the far-right window. Examination under Ultra-Violet light reveals: fluorescence to some of the under layer of pigments, original to the artist's technique. The colors are bright and fresh, and the paint layer is stable.