Artwork
The Bridge of Louis Philippe
The Bridge of Louis Philippe is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Armand Guillaumin. It dates from 1875 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: Guillaumin / 75
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Its composition includes a modest bridge spanning a waterway, alongside a house, a boat, and a tree, elements that together suggest a tranquil riverside scene.
The painting titled The Bridge of Louis Philippe, executed by Jean-Baptiste-Armand Guillaumin in 1875, is classified as an oil-on-canvas landscape. Its composition includes a modest bridge spanning a waterway, alongside a house, a boat, and a tree, elements that together suggest a tranquil riverside scene. The presence of these domestic and natural motifs reflects the period's aesthetic interest in everyday settings and the harmonious relationship between human habitation and the landscape, characteristic of Guillaumin's Impressionist practice.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil on canvas painting, executed with oil paint applied to a canvas support, a technique typical of Guillaumin's landscape practice. The composition depicts a house, a boat, and a tree, situating it within the landscape genre. The canvas measures about 45.8 cm in height by 60.5 cm in width, a modest scale that emphasizes the intimate handling of the medium.
The painting's formal qualities include a restrained palette and balanced spatial arrangement, reflecting the artist's naturalistic rendering. It is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C., entering the institution through a 1963 bequest.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1875 by Jean-Baptiste-Armand Guillaumin, The Bridge of Louis Philippe is an oil on canvas landscape. The earliest documented owner was Maurice Barret-Décap of Paris and Biarritz, recorded as possessing the work from around 1887; according to the Chester Dale papers in the National Gallery of Art curatorial files, it remained in the Barret-Décap collection for some forty years. It subsequently passed through the New York gallery Durand-Ruel, which sold it in 1927 to the collector Chester Dale (1883–1962) of New York.
Dale retained the canvas until his death, after which it entered the National Gallery of Art in 1963 as part of his bequest. The sources do not specify an accession number or record any exhibition history.
Overview
Jean-Baptiste-Armand Guillaumin's painting, The Bridge of Louis Philippe, is an oil on canvas depiction of a tranquil waterside scene. The composition centers on a bridge, flanked by a boat on the water and surrounding trees. Rendered with a deliberate simplicity, the artwork conveys a quiet atmosphere, characteristic of the artist's approach to landscape subjects.
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