William Henry Bartlett, Irish 1858-1932- Hot Soup; oil on canvas, signed and dated 'W. H. Bartlett / 1880' (lower right), 72.5 x 90.5 cm. Provenance: Private Collection. Note: Bartlett studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Léon Gérôme...

William Henry Bartlett,
Irish 1858-1932-
Hot Soup by the Church of Saint-Eustache, Paris;
oil on canvas, signed and dated 'W. H. Bartlett / 1880' (lower right), 72.5 x 90.5 cm.
Provenance: Private Collection, UK.
Note: Bartlett studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). Over time, he developed his own style which set him apart from his teacher, and which betrays greater affinities to the more Naturalist approach of Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884). The subject of the present work in particular suggest the influence of Bastien-Lepage, as does the palette of muted shades of grey and brown, here contrasted with hints of colour from the figures’ clothing. This picture in fact represents a departure from the artist’s more typical depictions of figures in open, rural, or coastal landscapes, with him here concentrating on urban, Parisian subjects, and taking pains to closely and sympathetically capture each individual. The Church of Saint-Eustache represents a striking, and rather austere, backdrop for the scene’s foreground activity. It is situated in the 1st arrondissement of Paris and the present building was built between 1532 and 1632. It is captured, also, in the oil by Léon Augustin Lhermitte (1844–1925), entitled ‘Les Halles’, painted in 1893, and today held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Paris [no. PPP143].
We are grateful to Professor Kenneth McConkey for his identification of the church in the present work.
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