Johan Barthold Jongkind (Dutch, 1819-1891)Paysage Nivernaissigned and dated 'Jongkind 1862' (lower left)oil on canvas33x 56.5cm(13x 22 1/4in).For further information on this lot please visit theArtist or Maker: Johan Barthold Jongkind (Dutch, 1819-1891)Provenance: ProvenanceJules Cronier; sold, Gallery Georges Petit, 11/12 March 1908, no. 61.With Kunsthandler Huinick & Schendel, Amsterdam, no. 1071.With Arthur Tooth & Sons, London.Sir Frederic and Lady Hamilton, UK (acquired from the above).Thence by descent to the present owners.LiteratureV. Hefting, Jongkind: Sa vie son ouevre son époque, Paris, 1975, no. 240, illustrated p. 130.A. Stein, S. Brame, F. Lorenceau and J. Sinizergues, Jongkind: Catalogue critique de l'ouevre: Peintures I, Paris, 2003, no. 277, illustrated p. 144.One of ten children, Johan Jongkind was born in Lattrop, and from an early age showed real interest in drawing which preoccupied him at school; following the death of his father in 1836, his mother continued to support him in his desire to be an artist.Jongkind enrolled at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in the Hague in 1836 under the direction of Andreas Schelfhout, and in 1845 was introduced by Schelfhout to Eugène Isabey. The following year Jongkind left for Paris and settled in Place Pigalle, supported by an annual stipend from the Prince of Orange. By 1850 he was exhibiting at the Paris Salons, but he chose to show his work in the sections devoted to French artists, rather than acknowledge his Dutch heritage. His increasingly avant-garde style, characterised by short rapid brushstrokes (which was to be so influential on the Impressionists) was not popular with the critics, and led to the artist experiencing intense periods of self-doubt which led to alcoholism and financial insecurity. In 1855, following the death of his mother and the withdrawal of the stipend, Jongkind returned to Holland. However, he had not been forgotten by his friends in Paris and in 1860 a group of around 80 artists led by Camille Corot, and Charles-François Daubigny arranged a sale of their work to raise funds to enable him to return to France. Upon his return he settled in Montparnasse where he became friends with Joséphine Fesser-Borrhee. This was the beginning of a critical and lifelong relation that provided the artist both moral and, probably, financial support, and gave him the confidence to pursue his work even in the light of criticism and rejection from the Salon.In 1862, the year in which Paysage Nivernais was painted, Jongkind became a member of the Société des Aquafortistes. The importance of this society was not only that it promoted etching as a serious art form, but because it also was an early model of cooperation among independent artists whose work straddled the line between mainstream academic taste and experimental exploration. He also met Claude Monet while visiting Normandy. 'His painting' Monet recalled, '