Statue in a Park by Paul Peel

Provenance:
Mrs. Lincoln Rice, Guelph
Private Collection, Burlington
Private Collection, Ontario

Literature:
Victoria Baker, Paul Peel: A Retrospective 1860-1892, London Regional Art Gallery, London, 1986, pages 25 and 60

After completing artistic training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Paul Peel wished to pursue further studies in Paris. The lively international arts community in Paris was an incredibly attractive destination for the aspiring painter, with its array of museums, galleries, schools and the annual Salon. By late 1881 Peel was situated in Paris, and as Victoria Baker remarks, “This was an important period in his life and a critical one in terms of his stylistic development.” By April 17, 1882 Peel had been formally admitted to the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, as a pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme - a teacher with high standards of draughtsmanship. Peel was chiefly active in Paris for most of his artistic career, briefly returning to Canada for short sojourns. By 1887 Peel was married to Isaure Verdier, settled in Paris with a studio and was achieving national and international recognition.

“Statue in a Park” depicts young Bacchus playing with a jaguar - a sculpture by Grégoire Calvet, who was a contemporary of Paul Peel. This statue of Bacchus is located in Amiens, France today. However, there is no indication as to where it was situated during the years when Peel was in France, nor is there any evidence that Peel ever visited Amiens. This composition of an urban park with a statue shares formal affinities with Peel’s series of Luxembourg Garden “plein-air” oil paintings, which were all executed in Paris around 1890. In particular, this diminutive work is reminiscent of “Luxembourg Gardens, Paris”, which depicts the statue of Flora. Painterly and fresh rather than formal and academic, this painting shows a more fluid, informal side of Peel, as well as the influence of the Impressionist style of painting outdoors and capturing the effects of light. Baker notes that Peel “desired to serve ‘art’ rather than merely to record nature; to create ‘poetic’ images that concentrate and uplift everyday experiences to the realm of poetry and the ideal.”

We extend our thanks to Victoria Baker, Canadian art historian and author of “Paul Peel: A Retrospective 1860-1892” for assisting with details for the preceding essay.