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Lot Essay
Late in his career, William Merritt Chase traveled frequently throughout Europe and around 1910 he purchased the Villa Silli, a fifteenth-century villa located outside of Florence. During these years Chase conducted his painting classes and often entertained fellow artists here, including Irving Wiles and J. Carroll Beckwith. Beckwith described the villa as "perfectly beautiful" and in fact had encouraged Chase to purchase it. The present painting, The Orangerie, is a masterwork painted during his time in Italy manifesting the artist's love of the light and color of the Italian countryside.
Painted circa 1909, The Orangerie depicts the exterior of Villa Silli, which was set on the side of a hill and had a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. Nearby were an olive grove, pomegranate trees, an old cypress tree and an orangerie. In addition, the villa's garden included an impressive oleander bush that stood eight feet tall and provided lavish beautiful pink flowers. These large grounds inspired a number of paintings reflecting the delight the house gave the artist.
Chase was captivated by the light of Italy and painted en plein air in order to capture the many colors of the region. Chase taught his students, "Take the first thing that you see on leaving your door. Anything in nature is good enough to paint. Stop that squinting. Try to see nature as you should, with your eyes wide open. Hold up a card with a square hole in it, and put what you see through the opening in your canvas...Keep your sky open, and when painting a tree, make it look as though birds could fly through it. We all see color and form. Why not begin with color at once and work with a brush loaded with paint, rather than with black and white?" (as quoted in K.L. Bryant, Jr., William Merritt Chase: A Genteel Bohemian, Columbia, Missouri, 1991, p. 157) Chase also advised painters to never "meddle" with their plein-air sketches once they were brought into their studio, as they will appear more natural and the painter will not be tempted to succumb to "conventional picture making."
In the present painting, Chase is quite evidently following his own advice, capturing a direct impression of the beautiful flowers and trees surrounding the villa. Although he did not necessarily draw directly from Impressionism, he "like the Impressionists, did believe in painting 'on the spot' and 'right under the sky,' with 'all the light I can get,' and he spoke repeatedly of capturing impressions, by which he meant fleeting sensations and transitory effects." (D.S. Atkinson, William Merritt Chase: Summers at Shinnecock 1891-1902, Washington, D.C., 1987, p. 22) As seen in the paintings of the French Impressionists, The Orangerie possesses vigorous brushstrokes, bright highlights of color and the effects of sunlight.
In The Orangerie, Chase employs both broad and short brushstrokes that infuse the work with a sense of graceful movement in the summer breeze. In this work, Chase has painted the foreground in sweeping brushstrokes while they become tighter and more controlled in the distance. Chase told his students, "Do not put too much of the same handling in the foreground and middle distance. Break the surface of your shades. They will appear more natural." (as quoted in William Merritt Chase: Summers at Shinnecock 1891-1902, p. 25) For The Orangerie Chase uses broad strokes of verdant hues in the foreground. As the landscape recedes to the trees and flowers surrounding the villa, the strokes of paint become shorter dabs of bright pinks, reds, purples and yellows. This sophisticated handling of paint combined with a jewel-like palette emphasizes the effect of the resplendent Italian sun. Chase bathes the work with brilliant sunlight as the trees of the orangerie cast large shadows across the lawn, giving form and texture to the landscape. The high-keyed palette is the brightest and most variegated of his career.
William Merritt Chase's vivid landscapes have been repeatedly acknowledged as some of the finest accomplishments of American Impressionism. The present painting, The Orangerie, exemplifies Chase's lively and colorful style evincing the artist's affection for his Italian surroundings.
According to Mr. Frederick Baker, the present work is included in Ronald Pisano's complete Catalogue of Known and Documented Work in All Media by William Merritt Chase, vol. III, Landscapes.
Painted circa 1909, The Orangerie depicts the exterior of Villa Silli, which was set on the side of a hill and had a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. Nearby were an olive grove, pomegranate trees, an old cypress tree and an orangerie. In addition, the villa's garden included an impressive oleander bush that stood eight feet tall and provided lavish beautiful pink flowers. These large grounds inspired a number of paintings reflecting the delight the house gave the artist.
Chase was captivated by the light of Italy and painted en plein air in order to capture the many colors of the region. Chase taught his students, "Take the first thing that you see on leaving your door. Anything in nature is good enough to paint. Stop that squinting. Try to see nature as you should, with your eyes wide open. Hold up a card with a square hole in it, and put what you see through the opening in your canvas...Keep your sky open, and when painting a tree, make it look as though birds could fly through it. We all see color and form. Why not begin with color at once and work with a brush loaded with paint, rather than with black and white?" (as quoted in K.L. Bryant, Jr., William Merritt Chase: A Genteel Bohemian, Columbia, Missouri, 1991, p. 157) Chase also advised painters to never "meddle" with their plein-air sketches once they were brought into their studio, as they will appear more natural and the painter will not be tempted to succumb to "conventional picture making."
In the present painting, Chase is quite evidently following his own advice, capturing a direct impression of the beautiful flowers and trees surrounding the villa. Although he did not necessarily draw directly from Impressionism, he "like the Impressionists, did believe in painting 'on the spot' and 'right under the sky,' with 'all the light I can get,' and he spoke repeatedly of capturing impressions, by which he meant fleeting sensations and transitory effects." (D.S. Atkinson, William Merritt Chase: Summers at Shinnecock 1891-1902, Washington, D.C., 1987, p. 22) As seen in the paintings of the French Impressionists, The Orangerie possesses vigorous brushstrokes, bright highlights of color and the effects of sunlight.
In The Orangerie, Chase employs both broad and short brushstrokes that infuse the work with a sense of graceful movement in the summer breeze. In this work, Chase has painted the foreground in sweeping brushstrokes while they become tighter and more controlled in the distance. Chase told his students, "Do not put too much of the same handling in the foreground and middle distance. Break the surface of your shades. They will appear more natural." (as quoted in William Merritt Chase: Summers at Shinnecock 1891-1902, p. 25) For The Orangerie Chase uses broad strokes of verdant hues in the foreground. As the landscape recedes to the trees and flowers surrounding the villa, the strokes of paint become shorter dabs of bright pinks, reds, purples and yellows. This sophisticated handling of paint combined with a jewel-like palette emphasizes the effect of the resplendent Italian sun. Chase bathes the work with brilliant sunlight as the trees of the orangerie cast large shadows across the lawn, giving form and texture to the landscape. The high-keyed palette is the brightest and most variegated of his career.
William Merritt Chase's vivid landscapes have been repeatedly acknowledged as some of the finest accomplishments of American Impressionism. The present painting, The Orangerie, exemplifies Chase's lively and colorful style evincing the artist's affection for his Italian surroundings.
According to Mr. Frederick Baker, the present work is included in Ronald Pisano's complete Catalogue of Known and Documented Work in All Media by William Merritt Chase, vol. III, Landscapes.