[Ernest HEBERT, painter] - Oleg TRIPET SKRYPITZINE (1848–193 - Lot 483

  2. Calendar
  3. [Ernest HEBERT, painter] - Oleg TRIPET SKRYPITZINE (1848–193 - Lot 483
  4. Lot n° 483 
Lot n° 483
Go to lot
Estimation :
150 - 200 EUR
Bid on drouot.com
[Ernest HEBERT, painter] - Oleg TRIPET SKRYPITZINE (1848–193 - Lot 483
[Ernest HEBERT, painter] - Oleg TRIPET SKRYPITZINE (1848–1935, painter, curator, and patron of the Fragonard Museum in Grasse) / A collection of correspondence, photographs, and notes kept by Oleg TS regarding the portrait that painter Ernest Hébert painted of his wife Esméralda (née Alexandrine Hélène Basily, whom he had married in 1879), a portrait made all the more precious by the fact that it remained unfinished at the time of his sudden death in August 1882: 1°) Gabrielle HEBERT (née Uckermann, 1853–1934, photographer, wife of the painter Hébert) wrote to Esméralda on July 24, 1882: her husband had received her letter but was deeply shaken by the sudden death of Madame Marie Caune, whose final moments she described (sudden heart failure), “My husband made a wonderful drawing of Marie, who died as beautiful as she was in life, looking as if she were sleeping, covered all over with flowers! Today she was buried in Enghien according to her wishes; she left her villa and her portrait to her father,” they kept her death a secret from her mother-in-law, and she remains with her, no longer going to the studio; “My husband sends me many compliments for his favorite model and urges her to make all the necessary arrangements for the thousand and one future sessions”—2°) Baroness Double (a salon hostess, born Marie Biart, 1840–1897, literary pseudonym Etincelle), in a letter dated July 30, 1882, addressed to Esméralda, who was in Vichy, mentions the people one might meet there, notably Monsieur de Montbel, who “is said to have sparked a mad passion in Sarah Bernhardt; she would go so far as to seek him out at his home until the day she fell into her mother’s arms! ” She herself is in Plombière and mentions the Rothschilds; she asks if she has received any details about the death of Madame Caune (a friend and model of Hébert) and adds, “Is your portrait similar to hers? ” (Oleg notes that Madame Caune was the daughter of his friend Dr. Robody of Marseille); the baroness continues with her gossip—3°) Baroness Double, in a letter to Oleg dated September 8, 1882, attempts to ease Oleg’s grief following the loss of his wife on August 12; she gossips about certain events that Oleg clarifies in footnotes (the suicide in Marseille of Valentine A, whom Hébert had painted) – 4) On September 29, Baroness Double inquires about her friend Oleg’s health and mentions the deceased: “How painful those visits to Hébert’s must have been for you! I understand that you cannot influence this great artist, and yet it is truly unfortunate that he is not finishing his work. He alone could have brought back to life the one whom death has taken from us” (Oleg notes that he was in Paris to attend the final sessions for the completion of Esmée’s portrait and provides details - 5°) Oleg keeps two original photographs of Esméralda; beneath the one by Brion, he notes, “Of all the photos of Esmée, the one this portrait most closely resembles—Hébert held it in his hands and drew inspiration from it”—6°) By the end of 1882, it is clear that the portrait was completed and that Oleg was eager to have it admired; he kept two postcards from the Duchess of Luynes and two others from Valentine Autran regarding this matter – 7°) Attached to this collection are: a large photograph showing the house in Vichy where Esmeralda died and an engraved portrait of Hébert that appeared in *L’Artiste*
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue