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Paintings · 20th century
Île de la Cité
Pierre Sicard (1900–1980) · French, c. 1930
Artist Pierre Sicard (1900–1980) Medium Oil on canvas Signature Signed Pierre Sicard in lower right corner Frame Associated carved wood and gesso gilded frame Date ca. 1930 Dimensions 19½ × 15¾ inches (sight); 26½ × 22½ inches (framed) Condition Excellent
An impressive and atmospheric view of the Île de la Cité in Paris, with the Pont Neuf and Place Dauphine in the foreground, and the spires and towers of the Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame de Paris rising in the distance. The foliage visible in the immediate foreground, Cézannesque in its framing of the scene, is an artistic licence. The view is a low bird’s eye perspective from the Pont des Arts, and no trees have ever grown in this part of the Seine.
Pierre Sicard (son of the sculptor François Sicard) was a versatile and successful artist. He exhibited with Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1924 (the same dealer who exhibited and represented Monet), as well as the Galerie Georges Petit. His portfolio from the 1920s and 1930s includes disparate works, from documenting the nightlife of Place Pigalle, to architectural and landscape views. The present work likely dates to this period of activity.
Through the 1930s, Sicard travelled and painted widely in Europe, and was appointed an official war artist by France in 1944. After the war, Sicard settled in Southern California, and continued to paint and exhibit, including exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Geneva. His works are in the collections of numerous museums in North America and Europe.
Provenance: ex-Sotheby’s, deaccessioned from the AD&A Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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