HENRI-EDMOND CROSS

(1856-1910)

L'Enfant au tablier blanc

Footnotes

Provenance
(possibly) Galerie Druet, Paris (acquired from the artist).
Oscar Ghez Collection, Geneva, by 1964; his sale, Versailles, Hôtel Rameau, October 24, 1976, lot 65.
Petit Palais Collection, Geneva, by 1980.
Whitford & Hughes Ltd., London, no. 5007, by 1984; their sale, Sotheby's, London, June 26, 1985, lot 153.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Exhibited
Turin, Galleria civica d'arte moderna, 80 Pittori da Renoir à Kisling, February 7 - April 5, 1964, no. 56.
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel-Aviv Museum, 50 Peintres de Renoir à Kisling, December 1964 – January 1965, no. 30.
Vevey, Musée Jenisch, De Vallotton à Desnos, July 24 - October 3, 1965, no. 29.
Geneva, Petit Palais Genève, Rétrospective 1910: le salon des indépendants de Paris, May 20 - June 20, 1969, no. 11.
Turin, Galleria d'Arte Pirra, Pointillisme, 1976, no. 6.
Dusseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle, Vom Licht zur Farbe, May 27 – July 10, 1977, no. 22.
Berlin, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Die Gesellschaftliche Wirklichkeit der Kinder in der bildenden Kunst, December 16, 1979 – February 10, 1980, no. 140.

Literature
I. Compin, H.E. Cross, Paris, 1964, no. 139 (illustrated p. 239).
F. Daulte, O. Ghez & E. Gibaudo, L'aube de XXe siècle de Renoir à Chagall, vol. I, Geneva, 1968, no. 96 (illustrated; titled 'L'enfant à la poupée').
P. Offenstadt, Henri-Edmond Cross: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 2022, no. 248 (illustrated p. 270).



"In [Cross's] work one can sense the joy of painting, the love of delicate harmonies, an inexpressible hesitation, mystery and unexpectedness. He is at once a cold, methodical thinker, and a strange and troubled dreamer."
– Paul Signac

Painted circa 1902-1905, l'Enfant au tablier blanc is a sublime example of Henri-Edmond Cross' renowned Neo-Impressionist style signature of his late period. By this time, Cross had shifted away from his Pointillist technique, using broader brushstrokes, and leaving small areas of exposed, bare canvas visible between the strokes. The result is a shimmering mosaic of brilliant and pure color. Cross' Neo-Impressionist technique would influence artists such as Henri Matisse, André Derain and Henri Manguin, and was instrumental in forming the principles of Fauvism and later Cubism.

Cross was captivated by the sumptuous colors and abundant vegetation of his own garden. Here, the garden is shown at the height of its growth. Cross has filled the canvas with layers of dense, blooming foliage. In the foreground, a young girl in a white apron sits, while behind her, a mother and young boy tend to the garden. Vibrant shades of green, blue, lavender, and yellow dance across the surface of the canvas in a densely woven tapestry of color, while interspersed are soft pinks and poppy red. In l'Enfant au tablier blanc, the fluidity and freedom of Cross's brushstroke is a direct result of his attempts to merge the chromatic principles of divisionism with a new expressiveness that reflected his own love of and excitement for the landscape.

The first recorded owner of l'Enfant au tablier blanc was Oscar Ghez, a businessman and art collector. Alongside his brother, Ghez achieved success after establishing the first assembly lines of rubber boots and tire production. Due to mounting political tensions, their business moved from Rome to Lyon and ultimately to New York. During this time, Ghez was appointed as advisor for Italian affairs to the Pentagon due to his profound knowledge of Italy.

In his leisure time, Ghez frequented antique shops, where he began collecting old books and Chinese porcelain and jade. After the death of his brother, this interest became more than a mere hobby and Ghez dedicated his time towards building his art collection. At first, Ghez focused on painters of Montmartre and the Belle Epoque but after several business trips to Paris, his interest shifted towards Neo- and Post-Impressionist and Fauvist works. Ghez was very selective in his acquisitions and would not let the opinions of others sway his choices. This instinct led him to discover master artists who were neglected at the time, such as Gustave Caillebotte, Charles Angrand and Louis Valtat, as well as female artists like Marie Bracquemond and Maria Blanchard.

Ghez sold his factories in 1960; in 1965, he purchased a private mansion in Geneva. Three years later, he would open the Petit Palais de Genève, with the aim of exhibiting artists who had been overlooked by their contemporaries. Ghez's dedication to sharing art with the public extended not only to the Petit Palais, but to museums worldwide – with whom Ghez would frequently arrange traveling exhibitions. Such was the case with l'Enfant au tablier blanc, which during its time in Ghez's collection, was exhibited at institutions in cities around the world – including Turin, Berlin, Geneva and Tel Aviv.