Arthur Beecher Carles (American, 1882-1952) Mlle de C. Oil on canvas 41 1/2 x 32 1/4 in. (105.4 x 81.9cm) Executed in 1908. PROVENANCE: The Artist. The Estate of the Artist. Collection of Mercedes Carles Matter, the Artist's daughter. Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, New York. Acquired directly from the above in 2000. Private Collection, Delaware. EXHIBITED: "104th Annual Exhibition," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 31-March 14, 1909, no. 301. "Memorial Exhibition: Arthur B. Carles, 1882-1952," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Philadelphia Museum of Art, March 18-April 12, 1953, no. 15. "Two Friends Marin and Carles, a Memorial Exhibition," Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, May 15-June 15, 1955, no. 1. "Arthur B. Carles, 1882)1952: Retrospective Exhibition," Graham Gallery, New York, April 14-May 9, 1959, no. 1. "Arthur B. Carles: Painting with Color," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, September 23-November 27, 1983; and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., April 28-June 17, 1984; and National Academy of Design, New York, September 11-November 4, 1984, no. 17 (traveling exhibition). "The Orchestration of Color: The Paintings of Arthur B. Carles," Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, New York, February 10-March 18, 2000; and the Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 16-June 25, 2000, no. 9 (traveling exhibition). LITERATURE: Barbara Ann Wolanin, Arthur B. Carles: Painting with Color, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1983, no. 17, p. 37 (illustrated). The Orchestration of Color: The Paintings of Arthur B. Carles, Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, 2000, fig. 11, pl. 9, pp. 37 and 89 (illustrated). NOTE: Arthur Carles first met Mercedes de Cordoba in 1904. The then-twenty-two-year-old artist was introduced to the Spanish beauty in New York City by friend and photographer Edward Steichen (1879-1973), for whom Mercedes had already modelled several times before. Carles was instantly attracted to her, in complete awe of her bewitching dark hair, her impetuous gaze and her fiery temperament. Later that night, Carles reportedly confessed "I'm going to marry that woman." However, it was not until several years later that the pair reconnected, during Carles' first trip to France in 1907. At the time, Mercedes worked in Paris as an illustrator and design correspondent for Vogue Magazine. For Carles, Paris was a milestone in his artistic journey, a place of exploration, innovation and change. There, he befriended important figures of the French avant-garde including Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), and was introduced to modern art, specifically through the work of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Henri Matisse (1869-1954). The present portrait was completed in 1908, a year before Carles and Mercedes' wedding. The artist's fiancée is shown seated before a large-paned window, in which we can spot Carles' own reflection. The scene takes place at "L'Oiseau Bleu," Edward Steichen's villa in Voulangis, a village east of Paris where the couple used to retreat to enjoy the fresh air, and where Carles would experiment with landscape painting. With its formal title that identifies the sitter only by her initials (which betrays a certain "discreet academic convention" according to expert Barbara Wolanin) and through Mercedes' refined features and pose, Mlle de C. is reminiscent of old portraiture standards set by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942), Carles' former teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Yet, the bold patterns in the window pane and in the sitter's fancy clothing betray a new fascination for solid, abstract shapes. The use of intense, slashing strokes of paint around the edges of the canvas as well as in Mercedes' face and shadows also refer to Carles' newfound passion for color. In many ways, the portrait showcases the artist's reverence toward the new mentors he met and admired in Paris, specifically Henri Matisse, whose bold application of -sometimes jarring- colors, made a deep impression on him. Mlle de C. was an ambitious project for Carles, who carefully documented every step of its completion through various photographs of Mercedes wearing a shiny new middy blouse. Once the portrait was finished, it was proudly sent (alongside Silence, another portrait of Mercedes de Cordoba which Carles completed in France) to Philadelphia, where it was included in the 104th annual show of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in January 1909. See More