The present painting, ’Utsikt mot Champagne’, was made during one of his stays in the area in 1876 or 1877. It is a classic depiction of fields, and diametrically different from the bold imagery of the Montigny stone quarries and the cliffs of Luc-sur-Mer, painted during the same period. In Utsikt mot Champagne the colour palette is muted and the light is reminiscent of the approaching autumn. In the foreground, the fields are defined by their division into earthy colours and sections of green, and we almost get the feeling that the artist has placed his easel in a ditch. The straight line of the horizon is interrupted by a tower, partly obstructed by a leafy tree. The image emanates a sense of calmness and harmony, a temporary return to Corot’s landscapes where the French field rests unwavering beneath a greyish blue sky.
Despite working intensely the great successes that Hill hoped for failed to materialise. In a final effort, around Christmas time in 1877, he attempted to get eighteen large paintings done for the world exhibition in Paris the following year. Only one painting would end up being accepted. During this period Hill suffered a severe psychotic attack and was taken into the care of Doctor Blanche’s clinic in Passy outside of Paris, where he was sectioned against his will. A year or so later Hill was moved to Roskilde in Denmark, and from there to Sankt Lars’s hospital in Lund. In March 1883 he was returned to his family’s house in Lund and from then on he was cared for at home by his mother and his sister Hedda. Carl Fredrik Hill’s second creative period now commenced, which resulted in thousands of drawings using pastels, executed during the twenty-eight years that the artist spent in his childhood home up until his death in 1911.
The work will be sold at this spring’s Important Spring Sale on June 14th-16th.
Estimate: 21 000 000 - 1 500 000 SEK
Live Auction: June 14 th– 16th, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm
Viewing June 7 – 13, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open Weekdays 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 4 pm
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