LEON DELACHAUX AND THE FILIAL BOND

Where motherhood is ubiquitous in the iconography of western art, the subject of fatherhood is rarely depicted. In Léon Delachaux’s work, women play a dominant role: mothers, women at work, socialites, young women, girls and even his wife Pauline, who modeled for him time and again. However, the images we do find of son, father and grandfather are filled with tenderness – images that undoubtedly echoed his own family life.

Born out of wedlock, Léon Delachaux was recognized by his parents Louis-Auguste and Mélanie a year later.  Mélanie went on to bear four girls, none of whom survived. Both clockmakers, they were overwhelmed by misfortune. Distraught at not being able to feed his family, Louis-Auguste drowned himself in the Doubs River in 1855 when Léon was five years old.

Twenty years later it was his turn to become a father. After having settled for several years in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, Léon married Pauline Noël. A year after the birth of their only child, Clarence, Léon discovered painting and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Christened Clarence-Léon, their beloved son is mentioned in Delachaux’s letters to his sculptor friend Carol Storck. In August 1882, he writes: “He has been very nice here lately […] He tells me to put a kiss in the letter for you. ” (1)
A month later he adds: “Clarence is splendid, a gaming devil, send you in photo. ” (2)

Storck executed an engraving of their dear child in 1879.

Numerous are the paintings and drawings that have come down to us depicting Clarence. Here are three of them using three different techniques. 

This one (Fig. 3), annotated affectionately Clarence my boy, dates from their return to France in 1884.

Delachaux was also concerned with portraying the father, head of the household, as a figure of protection and tenderness.

In La famille du Cordonnier (The Cobbler’s Family) (Fig. 5), the representation of the father is centered on his profession; his wife watches in admiration, holding her young daughter asleep on her lap. It is the presence of the mother holding her child that establishes him as a family man. The composition is centered on the father’s hands while his figure, bathed in light, accentuates his role.

Housed at the Museum of Art and History in Geneva, Elle dort déjà (She’s already asleep) (Fig. 6), depicts a young girl holding her little sister asleep on her lap. At their side, the father watches over them while he trusses asparagus. An art critic of the period points out that he “interrupts his work, hands on knees, holding his breath, enchanted at the sight of this infant, so well-behaved, so manageable, who deigns to go to sleep without a cry.” (3) The man’s watchful gaze solidifies the intimate bond between himself and his family. A sense of peace and warmth pervades the scene.

In this interior scene at Aubigny-sur-Nère (Cher), the artist focuses on the relationship between a father and his children. A father shows his son and daughter how to shell an Easter egg (Fig. 7). With a jovial countenance, he smiles, happy to pass along his skills to his children, who are being particularly attentive. This powerful connection with childhood appears frequently throughout Delachaux’s work.

It is in his drawings that the artist reveals the full depth of fatherly love. In the Montmartre drawings shown here (Figs. 8, 9 and 10), we see a father, who, like the Madonna, holds his infant child close.

A sense of calm and serenity emerges from these stolen moments taken from life. They acknowledge the artist’s sense of tenderness.

The artist continues this paternal focus once he becomes a grandfather, witnessed in these lines to his painter friend François Guiguet in June 1917:

“At the end of the month or at the beginning of September, I’m planning to go to Grez to see the whole family.  It’s going to be exhausting and a ray of sunshine, as well as a great joy. Today I received photos of all the little devils in funny poses. They bring us all much joy.”  (4)

These two snapshots (Figs. 11 and 12) in our possession were taken in 1914. Clarence had just purchased the large house in Grez, on the bank of the Loing River. However, after being drafted, he entrusted his family to his father who took them to his home in Saint-Amand-Montrond (Cher). Clarence’s two eldest, Philippe and Robert, found their grandfather to be naturally attentive and affectionate.

The premature death of his four sisters (5) undoubtedly had a lasting impact on the young Léon. As a child scarred by so many tragedies, he was able over a lifetime to regain what he had lost: a family. Unknowingly, he conveyed to us his strong desire to be united, responsible and surrounded by family.

-

(1) Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Department of Manuscripts, Letter from Léon Delachaux to Carol Storck, Philadelphia, August 1882. S5 (5) CCCXXXIV
(2) Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Department of Manuscripts, Letter from Léon Delachaux to Carol Storck, Philadelphia, September 16, 1882. S5 (6) CCCXXXIV
(3) W. S., “Salon suisse des beaux-arts et des arts décoratifs” in Le Journal de Genève, no. 238, October 9, 1886.
(4) Corbelin, Maison Ravier, Letter from Léon Delachaux to François Guiguet, Saint-Amand-Montrond, June 7, 1917.
(5) Valérie-Eugénie (1851-1860) at the age of nine; Léonie-Athénaïse (1853-1854) at the age of one; Marie-Bertha (1854-1854) at the age of two months; Adèle-Athénaïse (1855-1860) at the age of five.