martes, 8 de abril de 2014

CLAUDE-ÉMILE SCHUFFENECKER.

 La familia Schuffenecker pintada por Gauguin- Museo d´ Orsay



 Cartel anunciando la Exposición Volpini de 1889

Fresne-Saint-Mames 1851-París 1934

Estaba trabajando como agente de  bolsa cuando conoció a Gauguin y como su amigo, dejó un trabajo lucrativo para dedicarse a la precaria vida de artista. En 1886 concertó un encuentro entre Emile Bernard y Gauguin y tres años más tarde organizó una exposición en el Café Volpini.

Este pintor postimpresionista francés ha sido severamente criticado tras su muerte. Algunos críticos de arte han dicho que copió, falsificandola, la obra de otros artistas, incluido Van Gogh. Sin embargo leo que algunas investigaciones apuntan, por ejemplo a los "girasoles" como obra de Gauguin. De todos modos, mientras no se haga una investigación académica  seria de este asunto vamos a la vida de CLAUDE-ÉMILE SCHUFFENECKER.

 Su padre murió cuando  el tenía dos años y la madre se mudó a Meudon, cerca de París, donde la madre encontró un trabajo de lavandera. Durante los años siguientes fue criado por su tía Anne Fauconnet y su esposo Pierre Cornu en Paris. Comenzó a trabajar en el negocio de su tío para pasar luego a la bolsa, donde conoció a Gauguin. Los dos amigos visitaban a menudo  el Louvre para estudiar a los viejos maestros y estudiaron en la Academia Colarossi. 

En 1880 se casó con Louise Lançon y despues de nacer sus dos hijos  su situación ecónomica es precaria. El y Gauguin invierten en bolsa y cuando se produce la debacle de 1882 Schuffenecker decide solicitar un diploma para dar clases. Dos años más tarde fue nombrado profesor de dibujo del  Liceo Michelet en Vanves. En 1899 se divorcia.

En resumen, este artista, aunque el Museo D´Orsay lucha por recuperarlo, en la historia del arte se conoce más como admirador, protector y confidente de Gauguin que como pintor. Aunque figura como miembro de la escuela de Pont- Aven, nunca fue seguidor de Gauguin. Fue amigo de Seurat y uno de los fundadores del Salón de Independientes, donde hizo su debut en  1876




Y por si a alguien le interesa el asunto de "los girasoles" pego aqui la nota del MUSEO VAN GOGH





Research confirms authenticity of Yasuda Sunflowers

To coincide with the Van Gogh & Gauguin exhibition and its accompanying catalogue the Van Gogh Museum has published its research into the authenticity of the Sunflowers painting belonging to the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Ltd. in Tokyo. This still life is included in the show, as are two other versions of the same motif, from the National Gallery, London, and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

The authenticity of the Yasuda Sunflowers has been the subject of much debate in recent years, and Louis van Tilborgh (Curator of Paintings) and Ella Hendriks (Head of Conservation) have examined the arguments for and against the attribution to Van Gogh. They present the results of their own research in the Van Gogh Museum Journal 2001. Building upon the pioneering technical research that was carried out in a joint campaign by the The Art Institute of Chicago and the Van Gogh Museum prior to the exhibition, they have concluded that there is ample evidence to sustain the old attribution of the work to Van Gogh.

Those who reject the attribution to Van Gogh have maintained that the Yasuda Sunflowers is neither mentioned in the artist's letters nor in early inventories of the Van Gogh family collection. They have also pointed to stylistic and technical inconsistencies, as well as “mistakes” in the rendering of the sunflowers, all of which suggested the hand of a copyist. The first documented owner of the painting was said to be Claude-Emile Schuffenecker, and they proposed that this minor French artist and collector had made the still life himself. In their eyes he had both the motive and the opportunity to make a forgery, having access to one other version of the Sunflowers, the undisputed work now in the National Gallery.

However, the authors have reached different conclusions, and their arguments can be summarized as follows:

· The surviving documentation provides sufficient evidence to prove that the painting first belonged to the collection of Vincent's brother Theo. It must be identical with a still life with sunflowers, that Schuffenecker bought in 1893 from Theo's widow.

· While it seems that Schuffenecker restored and made minor additions to the Tokyo Sunflowers (and also to other pictures by Van Gogh in his collection), there is no evidence for the theory that he was a forger.

· Examination of the picture and comparison with other works by Van Gogh from the period 1888-89 show that in technique and style it is entirely consistent with other, undisputed works by Van Gogh. The so-called “mistakes” in interpretation can also be found in other works by the artist. The anomalies in brushwork and surface texture can largely be explained by the difficulties posed by the coarse jute support.

· Examination of the canvas has shown that it is painted on exactly the same kind of jute that Van Gogh and Gauguin used for other works when they were together in Arles. The two artists are known to have purchased a 20 m roll of jute in Arles. The fact that the Tokyo still life is painted on precisely this same kind of cloth provides compelling evidence of its authenticity.

· Comparison between the three versions has shown that while the Tokyo Sunflowers exhibit morphological resemblance to the London version and must therefore have been based on this example, in terms of its main colours and schematisation the still life displays more similarities to the Amsterdam work. As Schuffenecker had only access to one of those versions, this observation undermines the forgery theory.

· Previously dated to January 1889, the Tokyo still life has been re-dated to the end of November/beginning of December 1888 and was therefore painted during the period when Van Gogh and Gauguin worked together at Arles. It therefore marks an important stage in their artistic dialogue. Van Gogh probably made the work in response to a now lost still life in yellow by Gauguin, and it inspired his friend to paint his famous Portrait of Van Gogh painting sunflowers, now in the Van Gogh Museum.

· Rather than being a mere repetition of an earlier work it is argued that the still life represents an crucial stage in Van Gogh's Sunflowers series. It was the result of an extreme excercise in painting “light against light”, which the artist had earlier formulated as one of his main aims.


The article ‘The Tokyo Sunflowers: a genuine repetition by Van Gogh or a Schuffenecker forgery?' is published in the Van Gogh Museum Journal, 6 (2001), pp. 17–43 and is also available on www.vangoghgauguin.com.

See also Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South, Douglas W. Druick and Peter Kort Zegers, The Art Institute of Chicago (paperback, 0-86559-194-6) / Thames & Hudson (hardcover, 0-500-51054-7).

Emile Schuffenecker
Birth name Claude-Émile Schuffenecker
Born December 8, 1851, Fresne-Saint-Mames , France
Died July 31, 1934, Paris, France
Nationality French


He met Gauguin whilst working at the stock exchange. Like his more famous friend he gave up a lucrative job for the precarious life of an artist. In 1886 he arranged a meeting between Emile Bernard and Gauguin. Three years later he organised an exhibition at the Café Volpini in which works by himself, Gauguin, Emile Bernard and Louis Roy were displayed. He was intimate with both Seurat and Gauguin. Jeune Fille can be seen in the Musee du Luxembourg.
Post-Impressionism, Michel-Claude Jalard, Edito Service SA, Geneva
- See more at: http://impressionistsgallery.co.uk/artists/Artists/pqrs/Schuffenecker/biography.html#sthash.FP3O0Ob5.dpuf
Claude-Émile Schuffenecker
Born December 8, 1851, Fresne-Saint-Mames , France
Died July 31, 1934, Paris, France
- See more at: http://impressionistsgallery.co.uk/artists/Artists/pqrs/Schuffenecker/biography.html#sthash.FP3O0Ob5.dpuf
Claude-Émile Schuffenecker
Born December 8, 1851, Fresne-Saint-Mames , France
Died July 31, 1934, Paris, France
- See more at: http://impressionistsgallery.co.uk/artists/Artists/pqrs/Schuffenecker/biography.html#sthash.FP3O0Ob5.dpuf

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