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10 Lisette cousant, assise sous une des tounelle de Marquayrol, c.1915 Signed lower right 'Henri Martin' Oil on canvas 29 1/2 x 23 in, 74.9 x 58.4 cm P R O V E N A N C E Barrington Hills, Illinois Private Collection, Switzerland L I T E R AT U R E This work is accompanied by a photo certificate issued by Cyrille Martin and dated 22 March 2010 Still engaging with figurative painting after 1910, in 1913 Martin painted the monumental work Les Tricoteuses. It was first exhibited in the Salon des Artes Français that same year and has since been held in the collections of Musée d'Orsay, Paris and Musée des Beaux Artes, Nantes. Martin created multiple preparatory paintings for Les Tricoteuses, two of which are Portrait d'une femme de profil (p.12-13) and Lisette cousant, assise sous une des tounelle de Marquayrol (p.10-11). Les Tricoteuses depicts a group of women sewing, and it is these women that are the focus of both studies. Without the need for allegorical imagery Martin celebrates the joy of the everyday world. This follows contemporary thought that the most modest of tasks were the most important because of their simplicity and purity. The artist delights in the humble act of sewing, depicting his figures almost like angels in the garden, dressed in white and surrounded by halos of light and colour. From 1900 Martin spent a decade creating a pergola in the western corner of his garden in Marquayrol. Designed in the classical Tuscan style it features in many of his paintings including Lisette cousant, assise sous une des tounelle de Marquayrol and Marquayrol, sous la treille, travaux de courture abandonés (p.18-19). The pergola became the perfect setting for Mme Martin, family and friends to relax away from the heat of the midday sun.