188. With the Buffaloes at the Watering Hole [anii '20]

In the specific Parisian atmosphere of the late 19th century, in the solemn setting of the Louvre Museum, Jean Neylies meets the scholar Gheorghe Marinescu, whose neurology treaties he will illustrate. The deep connection that will form between the two will lead Neylies to follow Gheorghe Marinescu to Bucharest, where he will work as a draftsman in the Pantelimon and Colentina hospitals. He arrives in Bucharest in 1897 and settles in a service house located in the courtyard of the Colentina Hospital. He will also continue to develop his technique in oil painting and will join the artistic movements of the time. He will debut in 1903, with a personal exhibition organized at the Romanian Atheneum. He will also exhibit at the Official Salon, the Artistic Youth, the Official Exhibitions of Living Artists organized in Bucharest, but also at the Art Salons in Paris. He creates paintings and frescoes for Queen Maria and will be requested within the teaching staff of the National School of Fine Arts. His work was researched by personalities such as Dr. Constantin Bogdan, the director of Saint Luke's Hospital. His stay in Romania brings him closer to the culture and traditions of the country, themes that he will adopt and transpose into his work. He paints maidens, shepherds, horae or country scenes, but also captures the life of minorities, thus realizing an overview of our society. He will return to France for a short time in 1914, but will return to Romania, where he will remain until the end of his life. Jean Neylies' pictorial style was sometimes likened to the realism proposed by Gustave Courbet, and the confident strokes, manifested through surprising strength, are the result of the artist's stay in the studio of the French master Jean-Léon Gérôme. Among the artist's favourite subjects are buffalo herds, fieldwork, or the return from ploughing. Jean Neylies captures the herds of buffaloes succeeding on their way to the field, grazing; or on their way to the river, watering. The monumental dimension of his work reveals the variety of buffaloes and the sober colours of the natural frame. Among the animals illustrated on land or in water, the artist inserts the figure of the shepherd, whose role is to watch over the welfare of the creatures. The luminous inserts betray the torrid atmosphere and place the buffalo's cooling moment in a specific context.

References

OCTAVIAN, Tudor, "Forgotten Romanian Painters", Noi Media Print Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003. BADEA-PĂUN, Gabriel, "Romanian Painters in France", Noi Media Print Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012.

Dimensions

width 142 cm, height 92.5 cm

Description

ulei pe pânză, signed lower right, in red, "J. Neylies"

Dating

anii '20

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.