The Bridge at Charenton Albert Lebourg

For several decades, this small, somewhat elongated riverside landscape was inventoried in the museum’s collection under the name of the little-known French painter Edme Émile Laborne. Recent research has demonstrated, however, that it was actually the work of a much more highly acclaimed master, the Normandy-born Albert Lebourg (1849–1928). Lebourg, known for his independent spirit, was often associated with the impressionists, and he even exhibited with them twice, in 1879 and 1880. Lebourg was extremely fond of painting riversides, and he would often set up his easel along the rivers flowing through the environs of Rouen and Paris, recording the gentle waves of the water, the sweeping progress of the clouds and the constant changes of the light.
The Budapest painting shows Charenton, a small town to the southeast of Paris, at the confluence of the Seine and the Marne, which inspired numerous paintings by Albert Lebourg. The artist recreated the unique atmosphere of the increasingly industrial location using bold, confident brushstrokes.
This work is joining the permanent exhibition for the very first time, where it can at last take its rightful place alongside paintings by Eugène Boudin, Camille Pissarro, and Claude Monet.