Le canal en Flandre par temps triste is an oil on canvas painting by Belgian painter Théo van Rysselberghe, created in 1894.[1]

Le canal en Flandre par temps triste
Artist	Théo van Rysselberghe
Year	1894[1]
Medium	Oil on canvas[1]
Dimensions	60[1] cm × 80 cm (23¾ in × 31½ in)
Location	Private collection, Unknown

It was sold in June 2011 to an unknown buyer for nearly four million dollars.[2]

Painting

The painting features two lines of trees by a Flemish canal. The channel in the painting has been associated with the extant canal running between Bruges and Damme. The trees in the lefthand line are receding rhythmically to the background (the movement of the trees in the righthand line is barely perceivable). The receding trees are tilted in the direction opposite to where the perspective plunges.[2]

As in most of his pointillist oeuvre, Van Rysselberghe here combined the dappling colors applied in small dots of pointillism to (short) brushstrokes, which he used to paint the grass. Van Rysselberghe's attention to details is evident here, and his mastery in pointillism and choice of color makes this painting's surface vibrate and sparkle.[2]

The painting was sold to an unknown buyer on June 31, 2011 at Christie's in London, for GBP 2,617,250 (about $3,916,000 in 2020).[2]

References

Sources

• "Théo van Rysselberghe Le canal en Flandre par temps triste". Christie's. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
• L'Art Moderne, 13 March 1893.
• O. Maus, letter of 13 March 1898.
• M.J. Chartrain-Hebbelinck, 'Les lettres de Théo van Rysselberghe à O. Maus' in Bulletin des Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, vol. XV, 1966, no. 1–2, pp. 55–130.

Further reading

• L'Art Moderne, 13 March 1893.
• O. Maus, letter of 13 March 1898.
• T. van Rysselberghe, letter to O. Maus, 1898.
• E. Verhaeren, 'Théo van Rysselberghe' in Ver Sacrum, vol. II, Vienna, 1899, p. 9.
• M.O. Maus, Trente Années de lutte pour l'art, Les XX La Libre Esthétique 1884–1914, Brussels, 1926, p. 228.
• G. van Zype, 'Théo van Rysselberghe' in Annuaire de l'Académie Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 1932, p. 131.
• M.J. Chartrain-Hebbelinck, 'Le groupe des XX et La libre Esthétique' in RBAHA, vol. XXXIV, no. 1–2, 1965, p. 117.
• M.J. Chartrain-Hebbelinck, 'Les lettres de Théo van Rysselberghe à O. Maus' in Bulletin des Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, vol. XV, 1966, no. 1–2, pp. 55–130.
• A.M. Damigella, L'impressionismo fuori di Francia, Milan, 1967 (illustrated, pl. VIII).
• S. Venturi, Le pointillisme, Milan, 1991.
• W. Januszczak, 'Turn a dark eye' in The Sunday Times - The Culture, London, 1994, p. 29 (illustrated pp. 28–29).
• S. Mund, 'La cote de l'artiste Théo van Rysselberghe' in Arts Antiques Auctions, June 2001.
• R. Feltkamp, Théo van Rysselbergh, 1862–1926, Brussels, 2003, no. 1894–006, p. 304 (illustrated pp. 17 and 304, John Dorrance provenance incorrectly named 'John Porrance').