50
35
Joseph Milner Kite (1862-1945)
The Pier, Concarneau
Oil on canvas, 38 x 45.5cm (15 x 18”)
Signed
Exhibited:
Spring Exhibition,
The Frederick Gallery, April 2002 Cat. No. 2;
“
Peintres Anglais en Bretagne
” Exhibition, Musée de Pont-Aven,
June - September 2004 No.34
It was the desire to capture the essence of French rural and Peasant life and the
character of the French country folk that drew Joseph Milner Kite and his lifelong
friend Roderic O’Conor to Brittany and the fishing and farming communities of
the south Breton coast in particular from the late 1880’s onwards.
Working under the strong influence of J F Millais and Bastien Lepage this artists’
colony sought to explore the Realist tradition of their mentors and to explore the
new ground of Gauguin and Bernard in their handling of paint. O’Conor, with his
strong Divisionist style, while in contrast with Kites fluid brushstrokes shared a
common theme in praise of the working peasant.
This influence is clearly visible in a work by William John Leech entitled “
The Pier,
Concarneau
”, painted c. 1908-09 (Sotheby’s London, The Irish sale, 1993 lot 331).
The subject matter, handling and colouration all bear marked similarities to the
Kite shown here.
In both the Leech and the present picture there is a leisurely feel of a relaxed
moment in this normally busy tuna and sardine fishing port. Figures, young and
old casually dressed and in relaxed poses populating a pier normally bustling with
fishermen would seem to indicate that the working day has finished with the artists
in both compositions concentrating as much on Concarneau’s women and children
as on it’s fishermen.
€3,000 - 5,000
