SIMON BUSSY
13 June – 19 July 2024
Monday – Friday 10am - 5.30pm
34 Bury Street, St James’s - London SW1Y 6AU
Tel: 020 7734 7984
Email: art@browseanddarby.co.uk
www.browseanddarby.co.uk
SIMON BUSSY (1870 – 1954)
& Darby
Browse
Simon Bussy was born 30 July 1870 to a family of shoemakers in the commune of Dole, in the Jura region of eastern France. A prominent French artist, well versed in the popular styles in France at the turn of the century, Bussy was steadfast in his own artistic beliefs. Making no concessions to outside influences, Bussy pursued his own path of naturalistic and intricate works in pastel and oil. Although forging his own visual direction, Bussy was closely involved with fellow artists including Henri Matisse who he first encountered in Paris in 1886, and who went on to be a lifelong friend and confidante.
From the early 1800s Bussy was very much embedded in the cultural scene of London and the UK through his relationship with Lady Strachey, a prominent patron of the arts, and his subsequent marriage to her daughter Dorothy in 1903. Bussy and Dorothy spent a great deal of their lives travelling back and forth between England and France, and remained in close contact with Dorothy’s brother, Lytton Strachey –writer, critic, and founding member of the Bloomsbury Group – which cemented their connection to British arts and culture.
From a young age, Bussy was encouraged to pursue his artistic endeavours, attending his local school of art, where he was awarded a scholarship to the Ecole des Artes Decoratifs in Paris in 1886. Here, he studied under Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), and first encountered the young Henri Matisse. During his time studying in Paris, Bussy was exposed to the Old Masters, and learned of the unquestionable importance of works by Holbein, Rubens and Rembrandt, among others. He was also instructed in the significance of artistic independence, and a freedom from popular taste and criticism - a stance which he was to embrace wholeheartedly in later years.
In the late 1900s Bussy shared a studio with fellow artist Eugène Martel, and together they travelled extensively in the Alps. The uninhibited landscape and unusual lighting of the vistas encouraged Bussy to produce a series of pastels. These formed a substantial part of his first major one-man exhibition at the gallery of renowned art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel in Paris in 1897. Full of extraordinary rock formations, these works displayed Bussy’s use of chiaroscuro in the dramatic contrasts of light and shadow which distinguish them from his later, vibrant studies of living creatures (Matterhorn (le Cervin), cat. no. 27).
In the spring of 1904, Bussy and his new wife moved to Villa La Souco in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in the south of France, while continuing to spend part of each year in England. Dorothy acted as a link between the Bloomsbury writers and painters, and their French equivalents. Frequent visitors to their home included Lytton Strachey, Dorothy’s cousin, Duncan Grant, Rudyard Kipling, Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell, Mark Gertler, and Virginia Woolf. The Bloomsbury Set’s aim was to redefine modern attitudes to feminism, pacifism and sexuality through the arts.
Villa La Souco was a Provençal style villa surrounded by a grove of orange trees, overlooking the bay of Monte Carlo. Often drenched in Mediterranean sunlight, the colours of the surrounding landscape and the dappled light through the trees were a source of both tranquillity and inspiration to Bussy, and his illustrious circle of friends. The palette discovered here was to influence Bussy’s work going forward, with a move towards the plein-air hues favoured by the Impressionists at the time. Bussy’s pastel of Venice San Giorgio Maggiore, circa 1910s (cat. no. 35) of Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore shows Bussy’s embracing of pastel hues and the warm tones of the Mediterranean.
Bussy exhibited at the Salon in Paris from 1905 to 1913 where he met with mixed success. The avantegarde style was firmly in favour, and his careful compositions and orientalist perfection were not in keeping with the art of spontaneity and colour which was at the forefront of the Parisian art world at that time.
In 1912, Bussy made his first visit to the London Zoo in Regents Park – the world’s oldest scientific zoo. Describing this first encounter as one of the most important days of his life, the menagerie was to become a constant source of inspiration for the artist.
Bussy’s careful renderings of exotic birds and creatures in both oil and pastel are his best-known works, and demonstrate his immense skill as both a draughtsman, and a colourist. Working on an intimate scale in fresh hues, and with a delicate touch, Bussy’s zoological works display a mastery of his chosen mediums, and his great fascination with the creatures before him. Bussy often returned to the same species, the Toucan being a particular favourite (cat. nos. 14, 15, 16, 39). In each depiction he found a new way to represent the individuality of his sitter, through the brilliant plumage in vibrant yellows and reds, or the piercing eyes, seemingly keeping the observer firmly in sight.
Of these works, Roger Fry stated, ‘Delicacy and restraint compelled by fine taste, the very simplicity of the result with a complete absence of bravura in the handling will warn the serious spectator that there is more in these than can be appreciated at a first glance’.
Although at odds with the style of the time in which they were produced, these works emit such delight and consideration that onlookers are challenged to examine them closely and see the depth of colour and careful reflection present in each work. Over the subsequent four decades, Bussy would refine his technique – mixing pastel with gelatine to improve texture and depth - and produce a plethora of vibrant and majestic portrayals of creatures which would become his legacy. Bussy was not hoping to surprise his audience, but to present pictures of a great and overwhelming simplicity, which unavoidably capture the imagination of the viewer. Bussy exhibited with the Leicester Galleries in London from 1922 until his death in 1954.
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1. Antelope, Nager, 1940 oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated (lower left)
12 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. / 32.5 x 23.5 cm.
2. Brazilian Tanager, 1950 oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated (lower right)
8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. / 22.2 x 16.5 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, Paintings and Pastels by Simon Bussy, 17 December 1964, lot 15, where acquired by Mrs T. Drescher
3. Chough, 1950 oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated (lower right)
13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. / 33.7 x 26 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, Paintings and Pastels by Simon Bussy, 17 December 1964, lot 63, where acquired by Woods Wilson
Exhibited Honiton Gallery
4. Grand Electus Parrot, 1949 oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated (lower left)
8 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. / 22.2 x 15.9 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, Paintings and Pastels by Simon Bussy, 17 December 1964, lot 21, where acquired by Basing
CATALogUE LIST
5. Green Parakeet, 1944 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower right)
9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. / 24.1 x 19.1 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, Paintings and Pastels by Simon Bussy, 17 December 1964, lot 90, where acquired by Mrs T. Drescher
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
6. Green Thrush, 1940 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
10 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. / 27.3 x 22.2 cm.
Provenance
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
7. Lilac Breasted Anglian Roller, 1942 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower right)
11 x 8 3/4 in. / 27.9 x 22.2 cm.
8. Pie Violette de l’Himalaya, 1947 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
13 x 9 1/2 in. / 33 x 24.1 cm.
9. Red Bird of Paradise, 1946 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
13 x 9 1/2 in. / 33 x 24.1 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, One hundred Paintings by Simon Bussy, 7 May 1964, lot 57, where acquired by previous owner, thence descent to the present owner
Exhibited Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
10. Red Bishop, 1943 oil on board
signed and dated (lower right)
8 1/4 x 6 in. / 21 x 15.2 cm.
11. Silver Bared Mesia, 1943 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
9 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. / 23.5 x 18.4 cm.
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
12. South American Kingfisher, 1950 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
10 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. / 27.3 x 21.6 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
His sale, Sotheby’s London, One hundred Paintings by Simon Bussy, 7 May 1964, lot 90, where acquired by Mrs Warren Pollock Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
13. Tortoise, 1927 oil on canvas
signed and dated (lower left)
21 1/2 x 26 1/2 in. / 54.6 x 67.3 cm.
Literature
Francis de Miomandre, Simon Bussy, Bestiaire: Animals in Art, G. Govone, Paris, 1927
The present work is related to Bussy's hand-stencilled pochoir print of the same title included in the above folio, with prose by Francis De Miomandre.
14. Toucan, circa 1920 oil on board
signed and initials (lower left)
4 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. / 11.4 x 21 cm.
15. Toucan, 1940 oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated (lower right)
13 x 9 1/4 in. / 33 x 23.5 cm.
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
16. Toucan, 1946 oil on board
signed and dated (lower right)
10 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. / 26 x 21 cm.
17. Yellow Exotic Bird and Leaves, 1949
oil on board
signed and initials (lower left)
10 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. / 26 x 21 cm.
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
18. Australian Regent Bird pastel
signed (lower right)
10 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. / 26.7 x 24.1 cm.
19. Bird of Paradise pastel
13 x 9 in. / 33 x 22.9 cm.
Provenance
Jean Mayen
20. Blue Bird of Paradise pastel
signed (lower right)
14 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. / 36.2 x 27.3 cm.
Provenance
Private Collection, England
Private Collection, Toronto
Exhibited
London, Leicester Galleries, Artists of Fame and Promise II, August 1951, cat. no. 39
21. Blue Thrush pastel
signed (lower right)
11 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. / 29.2 x 24.1 cm.
Exhibited
London, Leicester Galleries, Exhibition of Works by Simon Bussy, June 1933, cat. no. 28
22. Grenouille Bresil pastel
titled (lower left)
7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. / 18.4 x 18.4 cm.
Exhibited
Stockholm, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Simon Bussy 1870-1954, 5 June – 29 August 1999
23. Java Fruit Sucker pastel
signed (lower right)
10 1/4 x 8 in. / 26 x 20.3 cm.
Exhibited
London, Leicester Galleries, 1935
24. Le Singe D ’Abyssinia pastel
signed with initials (lower right)
7 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. / 19.1 x 28.6 cm.
25. L’Aigrette (Egret) pastel
signed with initials (lower left)
7 1/2 x 6 in. / 19.1 x 15.2 cm.
Provenance
Julienne (Zoum) Walter
Exhibited
Roubaix, Le musée d’Art et d’Industrie de la ville de Roubaix, Simon Bussy l’Esprit du Trait, du Zoo à la Gentry, 20
September – 10 November 1996, cat. no. 73, illustrated p. 115 (with tour)
Stockholm, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Simon Bussy 1870-1954, 5 June – 29 August 1999, cat. no. 78, illustrated p. 82
26. Merion Leucoptere pastel
signed with initials (lower left)
8 3/4 x 7 in. / 22.2 x 17.8 cm.
27. Matterhorn (le Cervin) pastel
signed (lower right)
9 x 6 3/4 in. / 22.9 x 17.1 cm.
Provenance
Alix Strachey (née Sargant-Florence) and James Strachey (the brother of Lytton Strachey)
Simonette Strachey
Gifted by the above to the previous owner
28. New Zealand Lizard pastel
signed with initials (lower left)
8 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. / 21 x 24.1 cm. ´ `
29. Pelican pastel
signed with initials (lower left)
7 x 6 1/2 in. / 17.8 x 16.5 cm.
Exhibited
London, Obelisk Gallery
30. Pink Flamingos pastel
signed with initials (lower left)
7 x 10 3/4 in. / 17.8 x 27.3 cm.
Exhibited
Somerset, Court Gallery
31. Pink Flamingos and Waders pastel
7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. / 19.1 x 24.1 cm.
32. Red Bird pastel
9 x 6 1/2 in. / 22.9 x 16.5 cm.
Provenance
Browse & Darby, London, where acquired by the present owner, UK
33. Red Panda pastel
signed (lower right)
9 1/4 x 14 1/4 in. / 23.5 x 36.2 cm.
34. Regent Bird pastel signed (lower right)
13 x 9 in. / 33 x 22.9 cm.
Provenance
Vincent Randel
Exhibited
London, Leicester Galleries, 1931
Roubaix, Le musée d’Art et d’Industrie de la ville de Roubaix, Simon Bussy l’Esprit du Trait, du Zoo à la Gentry, 20 September – 10 November 1996, cat. no. 81, illustrated p. 116 (with tour)
35. San Giorgio Maggiore pastel
signed (lower right)
9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. / 24.8 x 19.1 cm.
Provenance
John Strachey
36. Sunbird pastel
8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. / 22.2 x 16.5 cm.
37. Superb Starling (Kenya) pastel
8 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. / 21.6 x 22.2 cm.
38. Superb Starling (Kenya), 1947 pastel
signed with initials and dated (lower right)
11 x 8 1/4 in. / 27.9 x 21 cm.
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948
39. Toucan pastel
signed (lower left)
13 x 12 in. / 33 x 30.5 cm.
40. Twelve Wired Bird of Paradise pastel
signed (lower left)
11 x 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. / 27.9 x 0.6 x 24.8 cm.
Exhibited
London, Leicester Galleries, 1929
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Simon Bussy, 1948 Roubaix, Le musée d’Art et d’Industrie de la ville de Roubaix, Simon Bussy l’Esprit du Trait, du Zoo à la Gentry, 20
September – 10 November 1996, cat. no. 82, illustrated p. 116 (with tour)
Stockholm, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Simon Bussy 1870-1954, 5 June – 29 August 1999, cat. no. 78, illustrated p. 82
41. Two Red Squirrels pastel
signed with initials (lower right)
13 3/4 x 11 1/4 in. / 34.9 x 28.6 cm.
Exhibited
Marseilles, Galerie Nasara
London, Michail Parkin Gallery
42. Two Ring Tailed Marmosets, 1927 pastel and gouache
signed (lower right)
15 x 12 1/2 in. / 38.1 x 31.8 cm.
Literature
Francis de Miomandre, Simon Bussy, Bestiaire: Animals in Art, G. Govone, Paris, 1927
The present work is related to Bussy's hand-stencilled pochoir print of the same title included in the above folio, with prose by Francis De Miomandre.
Browse & Darby
34 Bury Street, St James’s - London SW1Y 6AU