Lot n° 74
Estimation :
100 - 200
EUR
Léon Herlant (1873-1968) - 2 autochromes on Lumière plate, 1 - Lot 74
Léon Herlant (1873-1968) - 2 autochromes on Lumière plate, 12 x 9 cm. In this Japanese-style composition, attention is immediately drawn to an antique red-lacquered Chinese piece of furniture, richly decorated with gilded carvings of figures. Raised on its base, this piece of furniture with four rectangular doors imposes itself with a marked verticality, structuring the entire picture in an elegant, almost architectural grid.
The deep red of the lacquer contrasts with the gold of the chiselled figures, probably depicting court scenes or legendary Chinese figures, part of a refined decorative tradition. Here, the piece of furniture becomes more than a functional object: it is a central visual axis, both totem and partition, which articulates the space with rigor and poetry.
The sobriety of the surrounding environment - probably a textile background or a discreet interior - enhances the furniture and reinforces the dialogue between visual density and empty space, typical of Japanese aesthetics and the influence of Japonism in cultivated interiors of the early 20th century.
Captured using the autochrome technique, the whole captures not only the richness of the materials but also the silent balance of the scene, between dreamy Orient and nascent modernity.
Léon Herlant (1873-1968), a man who was both scientist and artist. A doctor of medicine and pharmacology, professor and chairman of the Faculty of Medicine at the Université Libre de Bruxelles from 1930 onwards, Herlant was the perfect example of the spirit of his time: curious, methodical and sensitive to the beauty of the world.
In addition to his scientific work - including a book co-written with G. Billen in 1896, Micrographie des poudres officinales - Léon Herlant was a passionate Autochrome photographer. His photographs reveal an intimate view of nature and everyday objects.
His works include superb snow-covered landscapes, tormented studies of trees, and still lifes of great finesse, where colors burst forth in delicate light.
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