Pair of Impressionist Views of the Jardin & Palais de Luxembourg

Pair of impressionist views of the Jardin and Palais de Luxembourg, attributed to Jacques-Émile Blanche: Le Jardin de Luxembourg en été and Le Luxembourg, les écoliers.

The attribution to Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861–1942) goes back to (at least) 1957, when they were sold as such by the Redfern Gallery, London (one of London’s premier galleries since its foundation in 1923). They were sold again as Blanche’s by Christie’s, New York in 1984 (29 February, Lot 200). Jane Roberts, author of Blanche’s catalogue raisonné, has informed us that she rejects the attribution to Blanche, and they are not included in the online catalogue she maintains.

Whoever the artist, the two paintings are superb and masterful specimens of French Impressionism at its height. The dappled light and lush foliage of the horse-chestnuts and plane trees, with the magnificent edifice of the Palais de Luxembourg (onetime home to Catherine de Médicis and now seat of the French Senate), deftly captures the beauty and elegance of the Luxembourg gardens, then as now an oasis in the heart of Paris.