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Lot Essay
When commenting on his approach to portraying any scene, Guy Pène du Bois once said that "the artist must not forget that he is an observer, a man watching the parade from a safe though convenient distance and armed, in any case, with enough strength of character to be kept physically out of it." (Guy Pène du Bois, "Guy Pène du Bois," International Studio, June 1922, p. 245.) This sentiment resonates throughout Pène du Bois' oeuvre, whether he was depicting high society leisure activities or tackling more serious and worldly topics such as the end of World War I, as in Peace Conference, or daily life during the Great Depression.
In the present work, Pène du Bois depicts the historic event, the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The Paris Peace Conference took place at the end of World War I and was instrumental in laying the foundation for the Treaty of Versailles. Diplomats from more than 32 countries attended the year-long conference as the allied nations sought to develop a peaceful plan for the post-war world.
Of the figures depicted in Peace Conference, five have been identified as influential leaders, who played a major role in the outcome of the proceedings. One of the figures is Georges Clemenceau who served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. He was one of the principle architects of the Treaty of Versailles and was acknowledged as the president of the Paris Peace Conference due to the Conference being held in France and his ability to speak both of the official languages of the conference, English and French. Another man present at the conference and also shown here is Vittorio Orlando. Orlando served as Prime Minister of Italy during the conference, but was forced to resign before he was able to sign the Treaty of Versailles as a result of his inability to speak English and his perceived weak politics. Other men depicted are: Ferdinand Foch, a high-ranking military general and celebrated war hero who addressed the officials at the conference; Ramsey MacDonald, a British statesman who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, leading a Labour Government in 1924, a Labour Government from 1929 to 1931, and a National Government from 1931 to 1935; and Aristide Briand, a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and was a co-laureate of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.
Although Pène du Bois was certainly not privy to the inner workings of the conference, news of the successful peace treaties was widespread so he was certainly aware of their existence and subsequent impact. As Pène du Bois remarked that it was the job of the artist to be an observer, in Peace Conference, he depicts these influential politicians at this historic gathering in his characteristic distant and neutral manner.
In the present work, Pène du Bois depicts the historic event, the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The Paris Peace Conference took place at the end of World War I and was instrumental in laying the foundation for the Treaty of Versailles. Diplomats from more than 32 countries attended the year-long conference as the allied nations sought to develop a peaceful plan for the post-war world.
Of the figures depicted in Peace Conference, five have been identified as influential leaders, who played a major role in the outcome of the proceedings. One of the figures is Georges Clemenceau who served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. He was one of the principle architects of the Treaty of Versailles and was acknowledged as the president of the Paris Peace Conference due to the Conference being held in France and his ability to speak both of the official languages of the conference, English and French. Another man present at the conference and also shown here is Vittorio Orlando. Orlando served as Prime Minister of Italy during the conference, but was forced to resign before he was able to sign the Treaty of Versailles as a result of his inability to speak English and his perceived weak politics. Other men depicted are: Ferdinand Foch, a high-ranking military general and celebrated war hero who addressed the officials at the conference; Ramsey MacDonald, a British statesman who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, leading a Labour Government in 1924, a Labour Government from 1929 to 1931, and a National Government from 1931 to 1935; and Aristide Briand, a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and was a co-laureate of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.
Although Pène du Bois was certainly not privy to the inner workings of the conference, news of the successful peace treaties was widespread so he was certainly aware of their existence and subsequent impact. As Pène du Bois remarked that it was the job of the artist to be an observer, in Peace Conference, he depicts these influential politicians at this historic gathering in his characteristic distant and neutral manner.