FERNAND TOUSSAINT (1873-1955) LE SILLON. 1895. 40 1/2x32 inches, 103x81 1/4 cm. Rycker, Bruxelles. Condition B+: minor restoration along vertical and horizontal folds; minor abrasions and restoration in lower right image. Matted and framed. At the turn of the century Brussels was a major center of artistic creativity. Influential artistic movements and groups, such as Libre Esthetique, Pour l'Art and Le Sillon, all of which attracted avant-garde artists from all over Europe, were based there. Among them, Le Sillon (The Furrow) was a circle of decorative realists. Toussaint, who was primarily a painter, created his first poster for the group and instantly achieved fame in the field. The result is a stunning and flamboyant symbolist poster, marvelously executed in warm, soft tones, with gentle, though not overexaggerated, Art Nouveau curls. The simple image of a beatific woman, gently pulling aside some flowers, which she is about to cut with her scythe, is ripe with meaning. Symbolically it depicts the artist making his own way, "his determination to express himself according to his convictions," it can also be seen as the members of Le Sillon clearing away the old style of art in preparation for the new style they are about to sow. The following year Toussaint created a poster for the Café Jacqmotte in the same style, and together these two masterpieces have become his legacy. DFP-II 1130, Maitres pl. 80, Masters p. 95, Reims 1506, Wine Spectator pl. 94, Weill p. 57.
