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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani

Catalogue entry

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Photo: Jamie C. Sloane; © FdDPS
Series
Series: Rollinat
Keywords
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Classification: Pastel
Theme: figurative
Medium: Pastel
Support: On cardboard
Year: 1917
PS 175 (P 1504; LNC 186)
L'archange déchu (The Fallen Angel)
Alternate titles: De fee-verschijning; La Fée; La fée, apparition
1917
Pastel on cardboard
54 x 38 5/8 in. (137 x 98 cm) (sight size)
Titled, signed and dated lower right: Archange/ déchu/ Philippe Smit/ 1917
On the back: a handwritten label: Mr. & Mrs. T.P/ N° 1504/ The Fallen Angel on the protective backing panel upper center; a small handwritten label: 1504 and a piece of paper tape inscribed: 3/ L'Archange Déchu on the frame upper right and upper left respectively.
The Lord's New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA
Inventories
Donation Berendina Hubscher, 20-06-1952, (attestation 03-09-1953), n.p., s.n. private archives: no. [P 1504]: A Monsieur le Révérend Théodore Pitcairn et Madame Maryke Urban, son épouse: Pastels, 4- L'Archange déchu.
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 1504: Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn (donation by Mrs. Smit), The Fallen Angel, Smit, Pastel, 55 x 39 1/2 [in.].
Inv. LNC, 1984, updated Oct. 1998, LNC archives: no. P 1504: p. 2, The Church Hall - Art Gallery, The Fallen Angel, Pastel, 55 x 39 1/2 [in.].
Exhibitions
1920 Sparren
Kunsthandel De Heem, Atelier 'de Sparren', Laren, Netherlands, Tentoonstelling Phillippe Smit, October 03–11, 1920, no. 12, as La Fée.
Literature & Primary Sources
Niehaus 1920
Niehaus, Kasper. "Philippe Smit: Kunsthandel 'de Heem', Laren." De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), 07-10-1920, p. 7, as La fée, apparition.
De Gooi- en Eemlander 1920a
H. v. C. "Schilderkunst: Tentoonstelling van schilderijen en pastels door Philippe Smit." De Gooi- en Eemlander (Hilversum), 13-10-1920, p. 2, as La Fée ("… no. 12: 'la Fée' …").
Niehaus 1924a
Niehaus, Kasper. "Schilderkunst, Philippe Smit." Maandblad voor beeldende kunsten Eerste Jaargang, n°11 (11/1924), p. 321, as De fee-verschijning.
Niehaus 1942
Niehaus, Kasper. Levende Nederlandsche Kunst. Amsterdam: Bigot & Van Rossum, 1942, p. 204, as La fée, apparition.
Notes

Originally entitled and signed lower left La Fée/ Apparition/ Philippe as an old photograph1 shows (fig. 1 & 2), this pastel was inspired by the poem La Fee by Maurice Rollinat, published in 1896 in the volume Les Apparitions2.

Mes pas suivaient, rampants, lourds de marche et d’ennui,
Un chemin creux rendu souterrain par la nuit,
Lorsqu’un Être surgit, d’un lumineux funèbre
Qui n’éclairait que lui sur le fond des ténèbres.

Un Être, dont la peau, verte de moisissure,
Se ridait, transparente et frêle, sur les os,
Laissant voir goutteler blanc pâle, par grumeaux,
Le cœur noir où bâillait une large blessure.

This explains why in various critiques this work is often called La Fee. Presently, we do not know the reason why the artist renamed it.

1. Archief Kasper Niehaus, NL.
2. Maurice Rollinat, Les Apparitions, Paris: Charpentier, 1896, p. 19.

Additional images
FIG. 1 Original state of the painting (old photograph, Archief Kasper Niehaus, Netherlands, courtesy of Madame Niehaus Haavekost)
FIG. 1
Original state of the painting (old photograph, Archief Kasper Niehaus, Netherlands, courtesy of Madame Niehaus Haavekost)
FIG. 2 Signature before modification (idem)
FIG. 2
Signature before modification (idem)
Record last updated March 16, 2025. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "L'archange déchu (The Fallen Angel), 1917 (PS 175)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=175 (accessed on May 9, 2025).