Born on the island of Mauritius, Le Sidaner studied with academic painter Alexandre Cabanel at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but his zeal for the innovations of Impressionism led him to reject the conventions of his training in favor of the avant-garde movements of fin-de-siècle France. Early in his career, he was linked with both the Pre-Raphaelites and the Symbolists. Although he began his public career at the conservative Salon des Artistes Français, where he was recognized with a third-class medal and travel grant in 1891, he later exhibited at the Salon of the Société Nationale, a Société directed by Puvis de Chavannes after 1892 and known for it’s acceptance of modern tendencies. He enjoyed continued favor and was regularly honored by solo shows not only in Paris, but also in London, Brussels, and the United States. By 1930, Le Sidaner, who already an officer of the Legion of Honor, was elected a member of the Institut, gaining a position at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He was named its president in 1937. 

Le Sidaner wintered in Versailles often in the early years of the twentieth century, and eventually moved there in 1914, where he painted Bassin de Trianon à L’Automne in 1937. It is evident from the particular window design that Le Sidaner has depicted an architectural detail from the Château du Grand Trianon on the grounds of Versailles. The painting stands as a superb example of Le Sidaner’s mature work. As with many of these later works, Le Sidaner’s approach is less about the specifics of the site and aimed more about creating an evocation of intimacy and quietude. The dappled surfaces and diffused light described by his vibrant pointillist technique collapses the sense of distance and adds an air of timelessness and nostalgia to the scene. This effect is further enhanced by the omission of any figures from the composition. “His oeuvre displays a taste for tender, soft and silent atmospheres. Gradually, he went so far as to eliminate all human presence from his pictures, as if he feared that the slightest human form might disturb their muffled silence” (Y. Farinaux- Le Sidaner, op cit., p. 31). With Bassin de Trianon à L’Automne, Le Sidaner has created a seemingly private space within a public area, a favorite device of the artist, who treasured private and intimate settings. 

Museums and Collections: 

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England 

Detroit Institute of the Arts, Michigan 

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco 

Musee d’Art Modern, Paris 

Museum of Modern Art, Rome 

Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO 

Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. 

Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ 

The Tate Collection, London, England