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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani
Catalogue entry
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Photo: Christopher Burke Studios, NY; © FdDPS
Series
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Series
Series: Mallarmé
Keywords
- Figure composition
: - Landscape
: - Inspiration
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PS 224 (P 178; LNC 113)
Soupir (Sigh)
Alternate titles: Soupir; The Fountain; Verlangen
1920–22
Oil on canvas
69 11/16 x 38 5/8 in. (177 x 98 cm)
Signed lower right: Philippe Smit; titled on the frame lower center: Soupir and inscribed on the frame lower right: Mon âme vers ton front où rêve ô calme soeur,/ Un automne jonché de taches de rousseur,/ Et vers le ciel de ton œil angélique,/ Monte, comme dans un jardin mélancolique,/ Fidèle, un blanc jet d'eau soupire vers l'azur
On the side of the frame: a small handwritten label: 36-1929-6 lower right; the same label on the protective backing board lower right.
Inventories
Inv. T. P., Ptgs etc. at Bryn Athyn, n.d. [c. 1940], Glencairn archives: no. [13] [P 178]: p. [1], Soupir, Smit, 40 x 70 1/2 [in.].
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 178: Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, Soupir (The Fountain), Smit, Oil, 70 1/2 x 38 3/4 [in.].
Inv. LNC, 1984, updated Oct. 1998, LNC archives: no. P 178: p. 1, The Church - Church, 'Soupir' (The Fountain), Oil, 70 1/2 x 38 3/4 [in.].
Provenance
Theodore Pitcairn
The Lord's New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA (donation from the above)
Exhibitions
1922–23 Gooische Kunstenaars
Vereeniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer, Hotel Corvin, Hilversum, Netherlands, De tentoonstelling van werken door Gooische Kunstenaars, December 16, 1922–January 07, 1923, no. 125, as Soupir, schilderij.1923 Sparren
Atelier 'de Sparren', Laren, Netherlands, Philippe Smit, Laatste Werken, October 01–08, 1923, ?, as Soupir (see Niehaus 1923).1923 Fetter
Kunstzaal Fetter, Amsterdam, [unknown title], October 20–26, 1923.Literature & Primary Sources
De Gooi- en Eemlander 1922
H. v. C. "Schilderkunst II." De Gooi- en Eemlander (Hilversum), 30-12-1922, p. 2 ("… drie grote doeken …").Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant 1922
"Uit het Gooi: Tentoostelling te Hilversum." Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (Rotterdam), 19-12-1922, p. 9, as Soupir.Niehaus 1922b
Niehaus, Kasper. "Werken door Gooische Kunstenaars." De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), 21-12-1922, p. 9, as Soupir.Niehaus 1923
Niehaus, Kasper. "Philippe Smit, 'De Sparren', Laren." De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), 04-10-1923, p. 6, as Soupir.Niehaus 1924a
Niehaus, Kasper. "Schilderkunst, Philippe Smit." Maandblad voor beeldende kunsten Eerste Jaargang, n°11 (11/1924), p. 323-324, as Verlangen.Niehaus 1937
Niehaus, Kasper. "Philippe Smit." Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift Jaargang 47, n° 93 (1937 januari-juli), p. 232, as Soupir.Niehaus 1942
Niehaus, Kasper. Levende Nederlandsche Kunst. Amsterdam: Bigot & Van Rossum, 1942, p. 205, as Soupir.Niehaus 1955
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 18 & 29, as Soupir.Notes
Work inspired by the poem of the same title by Stéphane Mallarmé, published in 18661, from which the artist quotes the first five lines on the frame.
Towards your brow my soul oh gentle sister, where there dreams
An autumn strewn with ruddy streaks
And towards the wandering sky of your angelic eye
Climbs upward, as in a melancholy garden,
Faithful, a white spray of water sighing towards the sky!
1. Stéphane Mallarmé, Vers et prose, Paris: Perrin, 1893, p. 16; Stéphane Mallarmé, Œuvres complètes, édition présentée, établie et annotée par Bertrand Marchal, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1998. Poème page 107, notes p.1161-1162. For English translation please see: Alexander Gross: A Selection of French Symbolist Poems, Commissioned for the program of a Song Recital at Lincoln Center.)
Record last updated June 5, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Soupir (Sigh), 1920–22 (PS 224)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=224 (accessed on May 9, 2025).