Edmond Yon (1841-1897, Friend Of Corot And Daubigny), Landscape (the Dunes In Cayeux ?), Charcoal On Paper, Signed

Edmond Yon (1841-1897)
Landscape of the French countryside
260 x 410 mm
Charcoal on paper
Signed lower left

Well preserved, some light foxing spots (see pictures)
Framed with care, under glass
Dimensions of the frame: 39 x 54 cm

A painter of landscapes, Edmond Yon was also a draghtsman and engraver on wood as well as etching. This incessant exploration of black and white has certainly given him the qualities of observation and composition to express himself even more freely in charcoal, as he does here.

This landscape of the French countryside, where the sky dominates, is difficult to locate. The anecdote is absent and the artist gives way to the pure sensation of the landscape. No part of the sheet is left to chance, the rocks and the flowers at the bottom left, the stony path, the wild grasses at the bottom right (where the draughtsman also scratches the surface of the drawing to give more movement to vegetation). In the sky, a few birds and, all in nuances, the clouds, perfectly orchestrated.

Edmond Yon rarely exhibited his charcoal drawings. The auction sales he organized himself in order to both exhibit and sell his works at the Hôtel Drouot most often included oils on canvas (see the Landscape of the Seine at Rangiport; available in our gallery), watercolors and pastels, but very rarely charcoal drawings.

This technique, more confidential in the artist's studio, is perfectly mastered by this famous painter of his time, a friend of Corot, Théodore Rousseau and Karl Daubigny, among others.

Today, Edmond Yon truly deserves to be rediscovered and appreciated at the level of his talent.

16th April 2022 : The discovery of a watercolor by Edmond Yon, exhibited at the Société d'Aquarellistes Français in 1886, entitled "Dans les dunes de Cayeux" brings an interesting hint as to where our landscape was drawn. It was maybe in this same landscapes of Northern France.