Henri Joseph HARPIGNIES

This charming drawing by Harpignies is unusual among his drawings in its use of Oriental motifs. A related drawing by the artist, of similar dimensions and dated 1894, was on the art market in Paris in 1995; it depicted two separate vignettes of a coastal landscape and boats at sea, placed on the page and bordered by flowers and oriental lanterns.

Such drawings reflect the fashion for Japonisme, which first emerged in France in the early 1860’s and continued throughout the late 19th century, encouraged by critics like Philippe Burty, art dealers such as Siegfried Bing and such artists as Félix Bracquemond, Henri Rivière and Auguste Lepère.