Lot 37
Joseph Kleitsch(1882-1931)Rue Bourbon-Penthievre, Vernon, France 21 x 18in overall: 26 x 23in
28 April 2015, 18:00 PDT
Los Angeles and San FranciscoSold for US$20,000 inc. premium
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Joseph Kleitsch (1882-1931)
Rue Bourbon-Penthievre, Vernon, France
signed and inscribed 'Joseph Kleitsch Vernon France' (lower right)
oil on canvas
21 x 18in
overall: 26 x 23in
Painted circa 1927
signed and inscribed 'Joseph Kleitsch Vernon France' (lower right)
oil on canvas
21 x 18in
overall: 26 x 23in
Painted circa 1927
Footnotes
Provenance
The Jahraus Family, Laguna Beach, California, acquired directly from the artist.
Literature
Patricia Trenton, Joseph Kleitsch, A Kaleidoscope of Color, Irvine, 2007, p. 173, pl. 174, illus. in color.
The frenetic pace of Paris proved too distracting for Joseph Kleitsch. In the late spring of 1927, he returned to the tranquility of the small, picturesque French village, Vernon, which he had visited earlier in 1926 with the artist Abel Warshawsky. Vernon is the closest town to Giverny and as a result most of the artists that made the pilgrimage to Giverny spent time in Vernon. Situated on the Seine, northwest of Paris, it was a popular painting location for Kleitsch as well as for the French Impressionists. Rue Bourbon-Penthievre was an old, picturesque street leading from the Collegiale Church, visible in this work, to the pavilion Bourbon-Penthievre, near the Seine and the old bridge. Because the Seine used to overflow regularly, these Norman houses were elevated, with small stairs on the exterior. At the end of the street was the harbor of Vernon, for canal boats. The harbor was a district of ill-repute until World War II, when it was destroyed by bombs. The area was inhabited only by poor families. Kleitsch's impressionist painting is a testament to the old Vernon center which was half-destroyed during World War II in 1940 and 1944. With its church in the center of town and numerous vantage points along the river as well as in the hills above, Vernon continues to be a popular location for many landscape painters.
We are grateful to Patricia Trenton, Ph.D., for her assistance with this essay.