ID: 700008179 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700008179	Record Type: Movable Work

Still Life with Candle (drawing (visual work); Albert Lebourg (French, 1849 - 1928) (Artist); about 1867 - 1870; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los A...; 2009.38)

Note: The drawing represents a still-life by candlelight. Kitchen utensils, earthenware and a stove (partly covered by a piece of cloth) are artfully arranged around a candlestick. As the only source of illumination, the burning candle - heightened with white gouache - radiates in the darkness; the artificial light subtly reveals some of the forms while casting shadows on the floor. By stumping the charcoal extensively, the artist was able to create a soft, melancholy atmosphere in what must have been a humble interior.Nature morte à la chandelle was apparently intended as an independent study. It belongs to a small group of still-lives in charcoal, dating from the beginning of Lebourg's career, probably before 1870 (G. Weisberg, The Realist Tradition. French Painting and Drawing 1830-1900, exh. cat., Cleveland, 1981, no. 126, p. 156). Like some of the early drawings of Léon Bonvin (a fellow Realist) from the late 1850s, this study reveals a young artist perfecting his skills of observation by studying his immediate surroundings. Here Lebourg examined the aesthetic effects of internal light sources on a simple arrangement of everyday artifacts. While the unadorned utensils denote a working-class or peasant environment, Lebourg seems to have chosen them for their geometrical shapes to serve essentially formal ends. In this respect, his work anticipates the abstract rhythms found in later, more progressive still-lives such as Cézanne's.Albert Lebourg was born in 1849 in a rural part of Normandy. He demonstrated an early interest in architecture and studied under the architect Drouin at the Ecole Municipale de Dessin in Rouen. Gradually, he gave up architecture altogether and focused on painting and drawing. Upon his arrival in Paris in 1867, Lebourg visited the Courbet exhibition, which significantly influenced him; Nature morte à la chandelle is indeed reminiscent of Courbet's charcoal drawings. In 1872, as the artist was exhibiting in Rouen, a collector noticed his work and offered him to become a drawing master in Algeria. He left for Algeria and remained there until 1877, when he decided to return to France. In 1878, he met the dealer Portier, who introduced him to the new artistic scene. In the following year, he was invited to participate in the fourth Impressionist Exhibition. He was later qualified as an Impressionist and he did not reject such affiliation. He knew most of the Impressionists, was friendly with Degas, Monet and Sisley, yet he entertained close relationships with none of them. Today, Lebourg is remembered for his countless paintings of Normandy and Paris; his still-lives - along with his interior scenes - are the most interesting part of his graphic oeuvre.

Titles:

Still Life with Candle (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,U)

Nature morte à la chandelle (Still-life with candle) (C,U,English,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

drawing (visual work) [300033973] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

drawings (preferred)

Creation Date: about 1867 - 1870

Creator Display:

Albert Lebourg (French, 1849 - 1928) (Artist) [preferred,JPGM]

Lebourg, Albert-Charles (French painter, 1849-1928) [500003210]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500329598] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 2009.38

Other: Creation: France [1000070] Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Charcoal heightened with white gouache

	charcoal (material) [300012862]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, plant material, modified plant material)

	gouache (paint) [300070114]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>, paint (coating), <paint by composition or origin>, water-base paint)

	heightening [300053418]
	.......(Activities Facet, Processes and Techniques (hierarchy name), <processes and techniques by specific type>, <image-making processes and techniques>, <perspective and shading techniques>)

Dimensions: 30.5 x 23 cm (12 x 9 1/16 in.)

Cultures:

French (preferred)

General Subject:

still lifes (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	candle [300037654]
	.....(Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Furnishings (hierarchy name), furnishings (works), <furnishings by form or function>, lighting devices, <lighting devices by form>, <candles and candleholders>) (AAT)

	earthenware [300140803]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>, ceramic ware (visual works), pottery (visual works)) (AAT)

	stove (heating equipment) [300052201]
	.....(Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Tools and Equipment (hierarchy name), equipment, <equipment by process>, <cooling| heating and humidifying equipment>, heating equipment) (AAT)

	utensils [300241917]
	.....(Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Tools and Equipment (hierarchy name), equipment, <equipment by general type>, tools) (AAT)

	still life [300015638]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by subject type>) (AAT)

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
Still Life with Candle	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)
Nature morte à la chandelle (Still-life with candle)	........ [JPGM]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)

Subject: ....... [JPGM,VP]

Note:
English	..... [JPGM]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)