Terms and conditions of use
The plain of Gennevilliers, yellow fields
(La plaine de Gennevilliers, champ jaunes)
(1884)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
(65.9 × 81.7 cm)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 2011
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This painting belongs to a group of six radically simplified landscapes that Gustave Caillebotte created in 1884. These six canvases all depict the Gennevilliers plain adjacent to the artist’s property at Petit Gennevilliers. Situated on the banks of the Seine, only half an hour’s train journey from Paris, the area had fertile ground that provided rich and colourful harvests, which fascinated Caillebotte.
He was especially inspired by the radiant colours and simple geometry of the rows of planted vegetables.
Frame: reproduction, 2011, based on a late nineteenth – early
twentieth-century European frame
Artwork Details
Accession Number
2011.289
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Landscapes
Subjects (specific)
diagonal fields (land) flat landscapes flowers (plant components) France (nation) Gennevilliers (inhabited place) yellow (colour)
Movements
Impressionism
Provenance
Gift of the artist to Emile Billard, Le Havre, France, 1884; his collection until c. 1894; thence by descent to Mme Billard, Le Havre, France; thence by descent, remaining with the Billard family and descendants, until 2008; included in the Impressionist and Modern art evening sale, Christie’s, London, 4 February 2008, no. 17; from where purchased by a private collector, 2008; private collection, until 2011; by whom offered for purchase through Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox (dealer), London, 2010; purchased for the Felton Bequest, 2011.
Frame
Reproduction, 2011, based on a late 19th century - early 20th century European frame
Frame
The plain of Gennevilliers, yellow fields (1884) was acquired in 2011 with a recently constructed reproduction frame in a late nineteenth century classical revival style.
Soon after the painting arrived a proposal was made for re-presenting the picture before it was put on display.
Various re-framing possibilities were put forward. The frame chosen was in the manner of frames designed by Edgar Degas, a fluted cushion frame, gilded and distressed.
Though this type of frame was more commonly associated with portraits, it was seen to favourably reflect an abstract quality in the picture without over emphasising the development of space in the landscape.
The frame was made in London and fitted to the painting in May 2011.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Reproduction - commissioned by the NGV
Date
2011
Materials
Timber and gold leaf