An 1864 painting by Gustave Courbet never before on the market comes up at Sotheby’s sale of 19th century European paintings in London on November 20. Le Ruisseau de Plaisir-Fontaine, dans la vallée du Puits Noir is from a French private collection. It is estimated at £200,000-300,000. The Puits-Noir is the name of a secluded spot outside Ornans where the Brême river meanders through a narrow gorge. It was one of Courbet’s favourite places to paint. Provenance can be traced unbroken through the same family to the artist. Claude-Hélène-Prosper Teste (1801 – 1869), first owner of the present work, was Mayor of Ornans and a friend of Courbet. He was a sitter for Courbet’s masterpiece L’Enterrement à Ornans (Burial at Ornans).
Also featured is La Marseillaise by Jean Béraud from a European private collection. Estimated at £500,000-700,000 and depicting Bastille Day in 1880 it epitomises Parisian life at the height of the Belle Époque.