Study of Waves
Study of Waves
Study of Waves
Study of Waves

On view

European Art
William R. Elfers Gallery

Study of Waves,

ca. 1895

Hippolyte Petitjean, 1854–1929; born Mâcon, France; died Paris, France
2009-40

Hundreds of distinct brushstrokes—blues, greens, browns, purples, yellows—mingle on this sheet; they swirl, assemble, and dissipate into the spray of a wave smashing against a rocky coast. Influenced by scientific publications on optics and the perception of color, Neo-Impressionists such as Petitjean adopted a method in which they placed unmixed colors side by side, with the expectation that the colors would mix optically in the act of perception, resulting in more luminous images. The technique is particularly effective in this drawing, as each mark registers not only color but also direction and movement, with every brushstroke akin to a splashing droplet of water or a flash of light glistening off the sea’s rippling surface.

Information

Title
Study of Waves
Dates

ca. 1895

Maker
Hippolyte Petitjean
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
20.2 × 35.2 cm (7 15/16 × 13 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2009-40
Marks/Labels/Seals
Faint traces of the atelier stamp (Lugt 2022c) in red at the bottom, right of center.
Culture
French
Period
pointillism
Type
drawings, studies (visual works), watercolors
Materials
watercolor, wove paper
Subject
waves (natural events)

Studio of the artist. Anonymous sale, [Sotheby’s, London 2 December 1987, lot 441, sold £7,600]. [JPL Fine Arts, London, by 1993]. Anonymous sale, [Sotheby’s, London, 4 December 1996, lot 328, sold £9,000]; private collection; [Christie's, London, 19 June, 2007, lot 42, sold £11,000]; [Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, London, UK]; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, 2009.

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