Emile Munier (French, 1810-1895) The shepherdess, 1888 Oil on canvas 30 x 17-1/4 inches (76.2 x 43.8 cm) Signed and dated lower right: E. Munier 1888 PROVENANCE: L.A. Lanthier, New York, circa 1890-1910; Private collection, New York; Findlay Galleries, Kansas City, Missouri; Private collection, Tulsa, Oklahoma, acquired from the above; Thence by descent. This work is included in the online Émile Munier catalogue raisonné by Rehs Galleries, Inc., www.emilemunier.org. Emile Munier was at the height of his career in the late 1880s, when he painted The shepherdess. An ardent proponent of French academic painting standards, Munier closely followed in the footsteps of his esteemed teacher, William-Adolphe Bouguereau. While he had honed his skills finely enough to mimic Bouguereau's meticulous attention to detail and delicate handling beautifully, Munier developed a distinctive personal touch that is always distinguishable in his work. He specifically was able to capture the fleeting expressions and subtle gestures of his subjects, such as a demure smile or a loving pat of an animal friend. From the start of his career, Munier was a decorated artist: he received three medals at the Beaux-Arts and in 1869 he exhibited at the Paris Salon. From 1886 onward, the artist and his family would take trips to Auvergne, in the southern French countryside. There, he became interested in scenes of children in rural situations, producing numerous scenes of young peasants and farm animals. Like his mentor, Bouguereau, Munier was drawn to the allegorical nature of a young shepherd or, in this case, shepherdess. Completed in 1888, the painting shows a young peasant girl taking a well-deserved break from her busy job tending sheep. Her canine companion keeps watch as she quietly amuses herself with a small wildflower, resting her staff on her shoulder. Her posture gives off an air of casual confidence: a young woman content with what she is doing. Similar to his signature images of young children and their domestic pets, Munier's depiction of the young woman offers the same sense of intimacy and youthful charm. Her direct, unflinching gaze welcomes the viewer with no ulterior motive: she is simply proud of her work. The shepherdess has been in the personal collection of a Tulsa, Oklahoma family for many years. In fact, just across town from where Munier's Shepherdess was displayed, a painting of a very similar subject by Munier's mentor, Bouguereau, and painted just a year later, hangs in the permanent collection of the Philbrook Museum of Art. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved