Updated 20 June 2024
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Beautiful Shoulders
| Date | 1920 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 65 x 54.7 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower left and dated lower right: Ernest Laurent / Paris 1920 |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M631 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1959-0113 |
This work is a superb example of Laurent's painting style during his last years. Laurent was one of the painters who combined Pointillism with symbolism and as a result, the pointillism shown here is not the strictly composed alignment of pure pigments used by his friend Seurat who died at a young age, but rather was a device to produce a rich atmosphere that would appeal to the bourgeoisie. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. October 1920 (Fr. 7,000) [see letter from Léonce Bénédite to Suzuki & Co., dated 8 October 1920 in the Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1924
- XIVª Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 0 1924 - 0 1924, cat. p. 180, no. 46
- 1981
- Impressionnisme Paris et Japon, Fuji Art Museum, 2 October 1981 - 8 November 1981, cat. no. 31, repr.
- 1985
- Exposition du Pointillisme (Pointillism), National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 6 April 1985 - 26 May 1985, cat. no. 37
- 1987
- Saito Toyosaku to Nihon no Tenbyo, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 8 August 1987 - 30 September 1987, cat. no. 53, repr.
- 1989
- The French Modern Painting, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Miyakonojo City Museum, 15 April 1989 - 14 May 1989, cat. no. 19, repr.
- 2016
- The Old Matsukata Collection: Reenvisioning the Dream, Kobe City Museum, 17 September 2016 - 27 November 2016, cat. no. 47, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1924
- XIVª Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 1924: Catalogo, 2nd ed., [Venezia, 1924], p. 178, cat. no. 46
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-168.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 146, repr.
- 1981
- Impressionnisme: Paris et Japon (exh. cat.). Fuji Art Museum, ed. Fujinomiya, Fuji Art Museum, 1981, pp. 40, 108, cat. no. 31, repr.
- 1987
- Saito Toyosaku to Nihon no Tenbyo (exh. cat.). The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, ed. [Urawa], The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 1987, p. 54, cat. no. 53, repr.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 909.
- 1992
- The French Modern Art, from The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (exh. cat.). The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, ed. Okinawa, Urasoe Art Museum, 1992, p.30, cat. no. 20, col. repr
- 2016
- The Old Matsukata Collection: Reenvisioning the Dream (exh. cat.). Kobe City Museum, ed. [Kobe], Executive Committee of the Old Matsukata Collection, 2016, pp. 87, 259, cat. no. 47, col. repr.
- 2018
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 631, col. repr.