Léon Augustin L’HERMITTE (1844–1925)
Les lavandières

Signed (lower right) Pastel on paper mounted on canvas 53.50 x 64.75 cm Provenance: Private Collection, Europ Well known for his innovative use of pastels, Léon Augustin L'Hermitte won the admiration of his contemporaries including Van Gogh who wrote about him: “ If every month Le Monde Illustré published one of his compositions, it would be a great pleasure for me to be able to follow it. It is certain that for years I have not seen anything as beautiful as this scene by Lhermitte,” talking about a pastoral scene. French naturalist painter whose primary subject was rural scenes depicting peasants at works. Student of Lecoq Boisbaudran, he gained notoriety after his exhibit at the Paris Salon in 1864. L’Hermitte received numerous prices and awards such as the French Legion of Honor in 1885 and the Grand Prize at the Exposition Universelle in 1889.