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Date: 1846-1890

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Description: Executed circa 1886.

watercolour on paper

To be included in the forthcoming Dubois-Pillet Catalogue raisonné being prepared by Patrick Offenstadt.

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Dimensions: image size: 16 by 19.5cm., 6 1/4 by 7 5/8 in. (oval)

sheet size: 17 by 25.5cm., 6 5/8 by 10in.

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Provenance: Ludovic Breschet, Le Puy-en-Velay (acquired from the family of the artist circa 1886-90)
Galerie André Maurice, Paris
Alexandre Schick, Paris (acquired from the above in the 1950s)
Thence by descent to the present owner

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Notes: Focusing on the steeple of a simple village church set in an expansive field, the composition suggests the invigorating power of large outdoor spaces. Dubois-Pillet, as a nature lover, liked to escape to the countryside near Paris, before his eventual move to the Haute-Loire region. The Pointillist touch, as well as the colours and tints, are typical of the artist's work in the mid 1880s. The unusual oval format gives the sensation of being the privileged viewer of a precious and jewel-like scene.