Elizabeth Nourse (Ohio, 1859-1938), Rentrant de l'eglise, Penmarc'h 

Oil on canvas, titled Rentrant de l'eglise, Penmarc'h (translated, Coming Home from Church, Brittany), signed and dated 1900 l.l.; 39.5 x 30 in.

A native of Cincinnati, student of Frank Duveneck, and accomplished French Salon painter, Elizabeth Nourse's paintings from the south of France are perhaps regarded as her most important work. Rentrant de l'eglise, Penmarc'h, expertly highlights her well known style and subject matter.

Done in the fall of 1900 while traveling with her sister Louise in the small town of Pointe de Penmarch, Nourse returned there another three times to paint the inhabitants of the coastal village. There, Nourse worked rapidly in her sketchbook, drawing small plein air studies, which she developed later in the studio.

Here, a plain faced Breton mother lightly holds her son's hand as she clutches a Bible to her waist. She looks far off into the distance, her expressionless gaze engaging no one, while the young boy stares defiantly at the viewer. Nourse often depicted the straightforward stare of peasants and middle-class subjects in order to engage the spectator. As Nourse explained, "To me, these people are not ugly, their faces, their toil-stained hands tell the story of their lives. I cannot paint 'pretty' people; they do not appeal to me." Clothed in their traditional dark and elaborate Breton dress, the two vertical figures stand in contrast to the framing horizontal bands of surrounding landscape.

Nourse exhibited this work, along with three other oil paintings, at the New Salon in Paris in 1901. After this exhibition, the Salon elected her Sociétaire in drawing, pastel, and watercolor; in 1904 she received the prestigious award in oil painting as well. An unprecedented achievement, Nourse became the first American woman to be honored in such a way.

Because of these accolades and subject matter, Nourse is often compared to the American Impressionist Mary Cassatt. Each chose feminine domestic subject matter, both lived as expatriates in Europe, and the two had successful artistic careers even amidst a sea of male peers. Nourse's works of mothers and children rival her female peer. Academically trained, Nourse's paintings offer a well-arranged and balanced composition. Additionally, Nourse's paintings tend to evoke a more pronounced response from the viewer. Like other works painted in Brittany, Nourse has captured the emotional and personal appeal of the Breton people.

EXHIBITED
Annual Salons of the Société National des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1901
Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 1901-1902
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1902

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mary Alice Heekin Burke, Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), 61-62 (pictured), 171.
Anna Seaton Schmidt, "Elizabeth Nourse: An American Artist," Donohoe's (Easter 1902): 336.

Image of the sketch courtesy of the Niehoff Center for Elizabeth Nourse, The Mercantile Library, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Provenance: Property of a Private Collection, Cincinnati, Ohio.