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Henri-Joseph Harpignies, 'Autumn Evening', 1894

About the work

Overview

The sombre colours and dying glow of the evening light in this rustic landscape evoke autumn, the inevitable passage of time and a certain melancholy. Leaves on the cluster of poplar trees are crisp and beginning to turn brown. On the scrubby grass beneath the trees, a few dabs of paint suggest late blooming flowers or perhaps leaves already fallen.

We don’t know where the scene is set. It’s most likely to be from Harpignies’ imagination, but based on his knowledge of and affection for the countryside of the Yonne, the area south of Paris that he visited often and where he lived in his retirement. Harpignies was familiar with the gritty realism of contemporary landscape but, influenced by the classical artists of seventeenth-century Rome, he preferred to portray nature in a state of harmony.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Autumn Evening
Artist dates
1819 - 1916
Date made
1894
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
116.8 × 160 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Pandeli Ralli, 1928
Inventory number
NG6325
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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