S.M. HAM NGHI (1871-1944). - Lot 70

S.M. HAM NGHI (1871-1944). Neo-Moorish villa. Oil on canvas dated March 11, 1902 lower right. Dimensions: 27x40.5 cm. (Indentation, slight lacks). Provenance: Artist's family. This work, painted by S.M. Hàm Nghi in the grounds of his villa in Algiers, is a rare example of a painting depicting an architectural view. Indeed, although we know from S.M. Hàm Nghi's correspondence that he painted not only landscapes but also still lifes, portraits and architectural views from the very beginning of his artistic practice, the artist soon devoted his art to landscapes devoid of any human presence. This painting, characteristic of S.M. Hàm Nghi's work in the early 1900s, has a rather raw character: the viewer senses the artist's desire to represent nature crushed by the sun, with its contrasts. But the work of the material still predominates, with the brushstrokes representing the movement of the wind through the grass and foliage, and translating the transparency of the air. On March 1, 1902, in a letter to the poet Judith Gautier, S.M. Hàm Nghi wrote that he painted one nature study a week. This work is a testimony to this prolific period. Expert: Madame Amandine Dabat.