John Peter Russell (1858-1930)

An early Belle-Île subject by Russell, dated by Galbally (The Art of John Peter Russell, Melbourne, 1977, p.101) to c.1888. 'Belle-Île also inspired Russell to paint the kind of peasant subjects he and van Gogh both admired. Simple lives, real, working-class characters -- the kind of subjects Millet's The Gleaners had made famous -- were regarded by some modern artists and their urbanised audience with intense nostalgia. Russell, van Gogh, Pissarro and Gauguin, each in his own way turned their back on city life to search for ideal, simpler ways of life to portray with integrity. ... The identification of the people with the land impressed Russell on Belle-Île: "Happy land ... Veritable Republic. ... People on all sides at work in the fields and valleys. Tis flat so the figures are important."' (U. Prunster, Belle-Île Monet, Russell & Matisse in Brittany, 2001, p.34)