Ludovic Napoléon Lepic (1839-1889) Lot n° 26

Nuit Japonaise circa 1888 Oil on canvas marouflaged on board signed lower left, titled, dated 1888 and located Saint-Peray on a label on the back, a second label annotated "n°7 Salon, porte condamnée, panneau B haut gauche 130 x 51 cm Provenance: > House in Saint-Peray of which Ludovic Napoléon Lepic created several decorative panels. > Private collection, Île-de-France Condition report: Framed, traces of humidity at the bottom of the canvas A French painter with a passion for archaeology, Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic is internationally renowned for his engravings. A pupil of Gustave Wappers and Charles Verlat, he was a close friend of Edgar Degas, with whom he founded the Cercle de l'Union Artistique (Les Mirlitons) in 1860. Lepic embarked on the Impressionist adventure with Degas, hanging out with the greatest of the movement (Morisot, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Pissaro). In 1863, he joined the studio of Swiss painter Charles Gleyre, where he worked alongside Frédéric Bazille, Monet, Renoir and Sisley. His "mobile etching" process made him one of the world's first Impressionist engravers. However, he soon moved away from avant-garde styles, adopting a more academic style of painting that won him praise from the salons. In 1864, he joined Alexandre Cabanel's studio. Lepic really came into his own in 1879, when 35 of his works were shown at the Galerie de la Vie Moderne. The apotheosis of his career came in 1883, when the Musée des Arts Décoratifs devoted a major exhibition to him at the Palais de l'Industrie. The work offered here for sale, created for a house in Saint-Peray, was presented at the Musée d'Opale-Sud, in Berck-sur-Mer from June 7 to December 30, 2013 during the "Le Patron" exhibition dedicated to the artist. Lepic set up his studio in Berck in 1877, where he devoted himself primarily to painting seascapes. In fact, he was appointed "official painter of the Navy". With refined elegance, it recalls the taste for Japonism at the end of the 19th century, and features the characteristic framing of prints. (MLD) > Nous remercions Monsieur Thierry Zimmer, rédacteur de la biographie et du catalogue raisonné de l’artiste pour les informations aimablement communiquées