Updated 07 April 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Two Women on the Terrace
| Date | 1922 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 117.5 x 101.5 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower left and dated lower right: Ernest Laurent / A 1922 |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M632 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1959-0114 |
Laurent met Seurat during his student years and began to use the Pointillist technique based on scientific color theory that he learned from Seurat. At the same time he exhibited symbolist tendencies under the influence of Puvis de Chavannes. In his later years, however, Laurent turned to the subjects of the bourgeoisie lifestyle and created a number of pleasant works in this genre. This work depicting two women conversing while seated on a high terrace is representative of Laurent's later style and his detailed brushstrokes speak of his lifelong faithfulness to the techniques learned from Seurat. He managed, however, to balance the logical severity found in Seurat's pointillism with an image rich with detailed nuances and a peaceful atmosphere. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 101)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. October 1920 (Fr. 5,000) [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. 47
- 1982
- From impressionism to école de Paris : its passion and struggle, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 3 November 1982 - 12 December 1982, cat. no. 38, col. repr.
- 1991
- World Impressionism and Pleinairism, Matsuzakaya Art Museum, 21 March 1991 - 6 May 1991, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, 14 May-16 July 1991; Hiroshima Museum of Art, 22 June-28 July 1991, cat. no. 49, col. repr.
- 1996
- The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 12
- 2017
- [Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017] Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: From the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, 22 April 2017 - 2 July 2017, Akita Museum of Modern Art, 15 July-18 September, cat. no. 90
Bibliography
- 1924
- XIVª Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 1924: Catalogo, 2nd ed., [Venezia, 1924], p. 178, cat. no. 47
- 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-169.
- 1971
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 36, repr.
- 1975
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 66, repr.
- 1978
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), p. 71, repr.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 147, repr.
- 1982
- From Impressionism to École de Paris : Its Passion and Struggle (exh. cat.). The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, ed. [Urawa], The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 1982, pp. 15, 77, 210, cat. no. 38, col. repr.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 910.
- 1991
- World Impressionism and Pleinairism (exh. cat.). Kijima, Shunsuke; Morikawa, Koichiro; Tomita, Akira, eds. [Nagoya], Chunichi Shimbun, 1991, pp. 134-135, cat. no. 49, col. repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 101, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 101, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 114, col. repr.
- 2017
- Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: from the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017 (exh. cat.). Nakada, Asuka, ed. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2017, pp. 117, 142, cat. no. 90, 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. 632, col. repr.