émile Lambinet (1813-1877) The Harvest

Émile LAMBINET
(Versailles 1813 – Versailles 1877)
The Harvest
Oil on canvas
H. 54 cm; W. 37 cm
Signed lower right and dated 1849
Sale or collection label top center, no. 168

Related work : 1851, same composition in larger format (81 x 65 cm), sold at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1913. See photo.

A student of Horace Vernet, Lambinet quickly turned to landscape painting influenced by the masters of the Barbizon school, notably Camille Corot, to whom he was close. His works are characterized by a great sensitivity to light, a meticulous treatment of nature and a great interest in rural scenes. He worked primarily in the Île-de-France region, painting the banks of the Seine, the countryside around Bougival, Marly-le-Roi, and his hometown of Versailles. Lambinet excelled in capturing the peaceful atmosphere of the 19th-century French countryside. His work is now represented in several public collections, including the Musée Lambinet in Versailles, which bears his name.

In this painting, dated 1849, Émile Lambinet depicts a bucolic harvest scene at the edge of a forest, perfectly embodying the naturalist aesthetic of the mid-19th century. Two women and a child are bent over a golden field of wheat, concentrating on their exhausting task. The golden light of the wheat contrasts harmoniously with the deep shadow of the forest in the background. This contrast creates an intimate, almost theatrical setting, emphasized by the natural frame effect of the trees and the openness of the sky in the center. This effect is emphasized by the spandrels that the original frame was intended to conceal. Two years later, Lambinet reworked this composition in a more imposing format, which was sold several times in the 20th century.