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Henri Le Sidaner 1862-1939 Le bassin de Neptune, Versailles, c. 1921 Signed 'L. Sidaner' lower left Oil on panel 10 5 ⁄ 8 x 13 7 ⁄ 8 in, 27 x 35.2 cm Provenance Galerie Viau y Zona, Argentina Joseph Verneuil Private Collection, Argentina (by 2018) Sotheby's London, 27 February 2019, lot 246 Private Collection, Europe (acquired at the above) Exhibitions Brussels, Galerie des Artistes Français, Exposition de l'œuvre du maître français Henri Le Sidaner, 1931, no. 74 Literature Y. Farinaux-Le Sidaner, Le Sidaner: L'œuvre peint et gravé, Paris, 1989, no. 1121, p. 358, illus. Le bassin de Neptune, Versailles belongs to a series of works which Le Sidaner painted in 1921 featuring the famed gardens of the Palace of Versailles. Designed by Le Nôtre for Louis XIV, the gardens are famous for their beautiful fountains and water jets, which inspired Le Sidaner to create a number of paintings on the theme, exploring the interplay of colour and light with his refined Divisionist style. Le Sidaner moved to Versailles in 1903 with his wife-to-be, Camille and it soon became his "favourite place of residence". In 1912 he exhibited his first series of paintings of Versailles at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He continued to paint scenes of its gardens and architecture for the rest of his life and was crowned in 1928 'le peintre de Versailles' by Camille Mauclair. Le Sidaner was particularly drawn to the gardens' impressive pools. He painted the Neptune basin, depicted in the current work, on a number of occasions in 1921. Water scenes were of particular interest, as he could capture the play of light and reflections. Le bassin de Neptune, Versailles is typical of Le Sidaner's style, with which he fused the Impressionists' painterly technique with the mysterious and compelling atmospheres favoured by the Symbolists to pay homage to the beauty and mystery of the natural world. 42