Clair de Lune: June 2022

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Kawase Hasui - Spring Moon, Ninomiya Beach (Haru no tsuki (Ninomiya kaigan), 1932

Frederik Hansen Sodring - The Summer Spire on the Chalk Cliffs of the Island Møn. Moonlight, 1831

Møn is an island in south-eastern Denmark. It is one of Denmark's most popular destinations for tourists with its white chalk cliffs, Sødring was among the few Danish artists of his period to look to Romantic landscape painting for inspiration, and this painting is radically different from the majority of paintings created in Denmark around 1830, first and foremost because it is a nocturnal scene, but also because of the way in which the motif has been treated. The artist has chosen to view the Summer Spire against a dramatic night sky where the moon breaks through the clouds and makes the chalk cliffs appear luminously white against the dark surroundings. Besides the influence of the Norwegian painter Johan Christian Dahl, at an early stage Sødring became interested in the German landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich's work and artistic devices. Several features of the Summer Spire scene are very reminiscent of the paintings by the German artist.

Utagawa Hiroshige - Small horned owl, pine, and crescent moon, 1830s

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797) - Scene near Naples, Italy, Moonlight

Samuel Palmer - The Sleeping Shepherd, c. 1831-2

Samuel Colman (1780-1845) - The Tryst

Robert Salmon - Moonlight and Lighthouse, 1836

Reuben Kirkham (1845 - 1886) - Abby in moonlight, 1865

Rama and Lakshmana on Mount Pavarasana Folio from the Shangri Ramayana series (Style II) ca. 1690–1710 India. Punjab Hills, kingdom of Jammu (Bahu)

Rama is shown with his brother at the summit of Mount Pavarasana passing a sleepless night after searching in vain for his wife, Sita, who has been abducted by the demon Ravana. Her fate is as yet unknown to Rama,so his fear has not yet turned to anger. The Ramayana emphasizes the vast territory they have covered and the desperate nature of their search, suggested by the featureless expanse leading to the curving horizon, marked by a silver moon. This painting belongs to the Shangri Ramayana series, which is associated with a number of Punjab court styles, suggesting that it was the product of itinerant artists who worked for a number of patrons in the region. This folio is most closely associated with the atelier at Mandi, known for its simple but compelling compositions.

Martin Johnson Heade - Point Judith, Rhode Island, 1867–68

One of only a handful of nocturnal scenes painted by Heade, this evocative painting captures the effects of glimmering moonlight on land, sea, and sky. Although the artist depicts a specific location, his nighttime rendering shrouds most details in shadow, imparting a greater sense of mood than place. Human presence manifests itself through two sailing ships on the left side of the composition. Via

Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg - A Philosopher in a Moonlit Churchyard, 1790

This remarkable romantic painting may illustrate part of a poem by Edward Young, The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death & Immortality (1742–45). It represents a young man standing beside an open grave among the ruins of Tintern Abbey, with its north transept identifiable in the background. He pauses to meditate on death and resurrection—the latter emphasized by a painting of the risen Christ that survives in an arched recess on the left. A sundial above the sculpture casts a moonlight shadow, showing that the time depicted is one o’clock in the morning. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016. Via

Petrus van Schendel - At the fair, 1834

Petrus van Schendel was born as the son of Gijsbertus van Schendel and Geertruida Brox, in the village of Terheyden. After the death of his father, the family moved to Breda. In 1822, van Schendel moved to Antwerp, where he would live until 1828. Here, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he was awarded a Golden Medal for 'doorzichtkunde' (the use of perspective). From 1827 onwards, van Schendel frequently exhibited his work at several exhibitions, such as the 'Tentoonstelling van Levende meesters' in The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and at the 'Driejaarlijkse Salons', or triennial salons, in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. After his education in Antwerp, van Schendel returned to live with his brother in Breda and Amsterdam until he met Elizabeth Grasveld, his first wife with whom he would have thirteen children. Elizabeth passed away in 1850, after which van Schendel re-married twice more and had two more children. Van Schendel's paintings are particularly known for the artistry in his handling of artificial light. Careful positioning of the light source takes up a vital part in van Schendels so-called nocturnes, or candle- or moonlit scenes. In the present lot, an early work by the artist, the composition is filled with activity, from the trumpet playing figure in the foreground to the ‘quack-doctor’ figure in the background, and all are characteristically illuminated by various points of light which help to illuminate the busy fair below the moonlit sky.