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

Photo: Roger / Studio Sebert; © FdDPS

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Classification: Pastel »
Theme: figurative »
Medium: Pastel »
Support: on cardboard »
Year(s): 1945 »
PS 517
The Merry-Go-Round
Alternate titles: Draaimolen; Le Caroussel
1945
Pastel on cardboard
35 1/2 x 47 5/16 in. (90 x 120 cm)
Signed lower left: Philippe Smit
On the back: a metal plate: Lottie Urban on the frame lower left.
Inventories
Inv. Lotty Urban-Leteneur, n.d. [ante 1953], s.n., private archives: no. [40], p. 2, Pastels: Caroussel [sic] avec homme aux ballons.
Exhibitions
No known exhibitions.
Literature & Primary Sources
Niehaus, Kasper. "De schilder Philippe Smit: een 'Grote Onbekende.'" Maandblad voor beeldende kunsten n°25 (1949), p. 230; p. 231 ill. in b/w, as Draaimolen.
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p.23, as Le Caroussel.
Notes
This pastel expresses the happiness of renewed peace after the years of wars, in a cheerful fairground atmosphere which is emphasized by the strong colours.
Kasper Niehaus sees there rightly the expression of the different ages of life1, since depicted there are the baby Geneviève Tambuté (born in 1944)2, in the arm of the woman in blue, her parents Lotty and Henri Tambuté, on the animals of the merry-go-round, and the artist’s father, with a hat on his head and a cane in his hand, seated in the gondola facing the baby.


1. Niehaus 1949, p. 230 "trap der leefttijden".
2. Geneviève, first name chosen by her mother, in tribute to Philippe Smit, who admired very much the work of Puvis de Chavannes.

Record last updated February 20, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "The Merry-Go-Round, 1945 (PS 517)." The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. http://www.philippesmit.com/cr/catalogue/entry.php?id=517 (accessed on March 29, 2024).