Leon de Smet
(Belgian, 1881-1966)

"Bouquet de Fleurs", 1917

oil on canvas
signed and dated lower left, verso with various labels, including two exhibition labels, one titled in French and numbered "379", a "Latem-Deurle (Belgium)" exhibition label, and Christie's labels.
Framed.

22" x 27-1/4", framed 30-1/8" x 35-1/4"

Provenance: Galerie Robert Finck, Brussels, Belgium; Sotheby's, New York, New York, May 9, 2007, lot 209.

Exhibited: Museum Leon de Smet, "Leon De Smet, 1881-1981, Herdenkingstentoonstelling (Memorial Exhibition)", no. 30; Latem-Deurle, Belgium, June 14-July 12, 1981; Galerie Robert Finck, Brussels, Belgium, 1981, no. 17.

Literature: Leon de Smet, 1881-1981, herdenkingstentoonstelling: tentoonstelling ingericht door Latemse Kunstkring en de Stichting Leon de Smet ... van 14 juni tot 12 juli 1981, Artiestenzolder van het Gemeentehuis te Sint-Martens-Latem. Museum Leon de Smet, 1981.

Notes: A native of Ghent, de Smet was born into an artistic family; his father was a decorative painter and his brother Gustave was an acclaimed artist and one of the proponents of Flemish Expressionism. He attended the Royal Academy of Fine Art (now a part of Hogeschool Gent) where he first encountered the Luminist School, a neo-Impressionist movement that emphasized the effects of light; he eventually became a member of the "Vie et Lumiere" group which included the artist Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926). De Smet had his first exhibition in his hometown in 1901. By 1910 he was taking part in international exhibitions where his work was enthusiastically received.

During WWI, de Smet fled to England where he made a highly profitable living by accepting commissions for society portraits. He never strayed from his Luminist origins, however, even when exhorted to do so by his fellow artists.

The exquisite still life presented here is an example of de Smet at his most masterful. He has employed a complex palette that deftly plays with the warm crimsons, oranges and golds of the flowers against the cool blues, lavenders, and pinks of the background. The resulting light-infused work is compelling in its vibrancy; in lesser hands such a juxtaposition could be disastrous.

In generally very good professionally restored condition. Areas of inpainting in center (scattered in the red flowers). Some of the colors fluoresce under UV light but appear to be hand of the artist. Relined with brown taped edges and new stretcher bars. Frame with surface marks, nicks and abrasions; staining on the linen liner.