Norbert Goeneutte (French, 1854-1894) Peintre au bord d'une rivière, 1893 Oil on panel 18 x 21-1/2 inches (45.7 x 54.6 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Norbert Goeneutte / 1893 PROVENANCE: Sotheby's, London, November 18, 2003, lot 317; Stoppenbach and Delestre, Ltd., London; Private American collection, (and sold: Christie's, New York, April 25, 2016, lot 26); Acquired by the present owner from the above. After leaving a position in an attorney's office, Norbert Goeneutte began his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts under Isidore Pils. Following Pils' death in 1875, and dissatisfied with the instruction of his successor, Henri Lehmann, Goeneutte abandoned formal study and established himself in Montmartre. There, he entered a dynamic artistic milieu. He formed a close friendship with Pierre-Auguste Renoir, appearing in several of his paintings, notably Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876, Musée d'Orsay, Paris), and also developed strong ties with Édouard Manet (in later obituaries he was described as Manet's closest follower). Despite these associations, and shared representation with the Impressionists through Paul Durand-Ruel, Goeneutte did not participate in their independent exhibitions, and remained committed to the official Salon, where he exhibited regularly from 1876 onward, cultivating a broad audience and critical recognition. Goeneutte's diverse oeuvre ranges from scenes of the bourgeoisie to depictions of urban laborers and rural communities, unified by a perceptive observation of contemporary life. New sources of inspiration came with his move to Auvers-sur-Oise in 1891. Located eighteen miles northwest of Paris, the village had emerged as a favored destination for artists in the mid-nineteenth century. First associated with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and later with Claude-François Daubigny, who settled there in the 1860s, Auvers offered a compelling combination of rural charm and accessibility along the Oise River. By the later decades of the century, it attracted a wide circle of artists, including Camille Pissarro, Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh. The area was also home to Dr. Paul Gachet, an important patron of the Impressionists, with whom Goeneutte had an established relationship; in 1892, two years after van Gogh had painted his well-known portraits of Gachet, Goenuette exhibited his likeness of the physician at the Salon. Painted in 1893, Peintre au bord d'une rivière depicts a plein-air painter working along the banks of the Oise. Seated on a folding chair before his easel, with his paint box nearby, he is accompanied only by a small white dog. The landscape suggests early spring, with trees just beginning to bud—perhaps marking one of the artist's first excursions outdoors after winter. While the identity of the painter, and the canvas on his easel, remain unknown, the figure is emblematic of the many artists drawn to Auvers and its tranquil riverside setting. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Sotheby's, London, November 18, 2003, lot 317; Private collection; Christie's, New York, April 25, 2016, lot 26; Private collection, Dallas, acquired from the above.

A very few scattered small dots of discolored accretion.
Under UV: varnish fluoresces green. Scattered areas of retouching, particularly in right area of sky, and along edges of panel, likely to address edgewear.
Framed Dimensions 25.5 X 29.5 X 2.5 Inches