Original red chalk drawing of the Romanian composer seen from behind, his shock of hair and raised arm, apparently conducting, inscribed in pencil at lower right "Georges Enesco / 23 / Cts. Colonne", laid down on a page of the printed invitation of the Catholiques des Beaux-Arts to the Ash Wednesday service held "suivant le Vœu de Willette" at Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, Paris, 13 February 1929. The invitation lists signatories including J.-L. Forain, Vincent d'Indy, Paul Bazelaire, Henri Ghéon, Paul Chabas, Carlotta Zambelli and J.-F. Delmas; the facing page with a reproduced drawing by Willette of angel musicians. With a newspaper cutting pasted in, dated "1952" in ink, reporting Jean-Louis Barrault's reading of Willette's prayer at the same service, and recalling Louis Jouvet's reading the year before. Together with a TLS from the American writer and autograph collector Arnold Rosin to "Helmut," describing the drawing. 63 Rue des Saints-Pères, Paris, September 24, 2000; 1 p. In part: "My autograph collector gave me what I believe to be an interesting item for you, a red chalk drawing of the famous composer Georges Enesco conducting at the Concerts Colonnes in Paris. He was Menhuin's [sic] teacher, mentor and god. Oddly enough this drawing was pasted on the faire part of Adolphe Wilette [sic], a famous illustrator of the 1890s and well known during the Belle Epoque. He is coupled with such familiar names as Forain, painter and illustrator, that of the playwright Henri Ghéon, and the composer Vincent d'Indy. To heighten interest someone pasted the newspaper article (1952) stating that the actor Jean-Louis Barrault read Wilette's prayer ..." The rest of the letter concerns Rosin's novels and his health. Invitation folded with deckle edges, chipping to the left edge, toned; letter with mailing folds and a stain along the right margin. Invitation 10.75 x 6.75 inches; 27 x 17 cm. Letter 11.5 x 8.25 inches; 29.5 x 21 cm.
The illustrator Adolphe Willette, a devout Catholic, asked that Paris artists gather every Ash Wednesday to pray for those among them who would die in the coming year; the tradition continued long after his death in 1926. Though pasted on this 1929 program, to our view, the date of the drawing in fact ends with a 3 rather than a 9 (it's difficult to see in the scan but there is a clear turn in the downstroke). If that is indeed the case, it is very possible that the drawing is, in fact, by Willette and was added to this program at a later date. It certainly looks stylistically plausible and seems reasonable that someone added this souvenir of Willette to this Willette program. In any event, it's a lovely contemporary drawing of Enesco in action.
The notation "Cts. Colonne" beneath the drawing refers to the Concerts Colonne (Orchestre des Concerts Colonne) in Paris, with which Enescu had a long and influential association as composer, soloist and conductor. In 1897 and 1898 the Concerts Colonne first gave a concert devoted to Enescu's compositions, paving the way for the premieres of his early orchestral works such as the Poème roumain, Op. 1; and in 1903 Enescu made his formal debut as a conductor there, leading the Concerts Colonne in a concert of his own works.
Arnold Rosin (1920–2017) was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1920. He studied painting and art history at Yale University School of Art. During World War II, he served in the Ninth Air Force in Europe as an officer intelligence and interpreter and in 1949 he returned to France, entered the Atelier Fernand Léger in Montmartre and settled permanently in Paris. He participated in numerous exhibitions, including the Salon de Mai in 1952. His paintings are in private collections in the United States, England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In addition to painting and translating, Rosin worked for UNESCO, the Council of Europe, Time-Life, Le Monde and La Vie Française and for a period was assistant to the European head of the International Refugee Committee.
Original red chalk drawing of the Romanian composer seen from behind, his shock of hair and raised arm, apparently conducting, inscribed in pencil at lower right "Georges Enesco / 23 / Cts. Colonne", laid down on a page of the printed invitation of the Catholiques des Beaux-Arts to the Ash Wednesday service held "suivant le Vœu de Willette" at Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, Paris, 13 February 1929. The invitation lists signatories including J.-L. Forain, Vincent d'Indy, Paul Bazelaire, Henri Ghéon, Paul Chabas, Carlotta Zambelli and J.-F. Delmas; the facing page with a reproduced drawing by Willette of angel musicians. With a newspaper cutting pasted in, dated "1952" in ink, reporting Jean-Louis Barrault's reading of Willette's prayer at the same service, and recalling Louis Jouvet's reading the year before. Together with a TLS from the American writer and autograph collector Arnold Rosin to "Helmut," describing the drawing. 63 Rue des Saints-Pères, Paris, September 24, 2000; 1 p. In part: "My autograph collector gave me what I believe to be an interesting item for you, a red chalk drawing of the famous composer Georges Enesco conducting at the Concerts Colonnes in Paris. He was Menhuin's [sic] teacher, mentor and god. Oddly enough this drawing was pasted on the faire part of Adolphe Wilette [sic], a famous illustrator of the 1890s and well known during the Belle Epoque. He is coupled with such familiar names as Forain, painter and illustrator, that of the playwright Henri Ghéon, and the composer Vincent d'Indy. To heighten interest someone pasted the newspaper article (1952) stating that the actor Jean-Louis Barrault read Wilette's prayer ..." The rest of the letter concerns Rosin's novels and his health. Invitation folded with deckle edges, chipping to the left edge, toned; letter with mailing folds and a stain along the right margin. Invitation 10.75 x 6.75 inches; 27 x 17 cm. Letter 11.5 x 8.25 inches; 29.5 x 21 cm.
The illustrator Adolphe Willette, a devout Catholic, asked that Paris artists gather every Ash Wednesday to pray for those among them who would die in the coming year; the tradition continued long after his death in 1926. Though pasted on this 1929 program, to our view, the date of the drawing in fact ends with a 3 rather than a 9 (it's difficult to see in the scan but there is a clear turn in the downstroke). If that is indeed the case, it is very possible that the drawing is, in fact, by Willette and was added to this program at a later date. It certainly looks stylistically plausible and seems reasonable that someone added this souvenir of Willette to this Willette program. In any event, it's a lovely contemporary drawing of Enesco in action.
The notation "Cts. Colonne" beneath the drawing refers to the Concerts Colonne (Orchestre des Concerts Colonne) in Paris, with which Enescu had a long and influential association as composer, soloist and conductor. In 1897 and 1898 the Concerts Colonne first gave a concert devoted to Enescu's compositions, paving the way for the premieres of his early orchestral works such as the Poème roumain, Op. 1; and in 1903 Enescu made his formal debut as a conductor there, leading the Concerts Colonne in a concert of his own works.
Arnold Rosin (1920–2017) was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1920. He studied painting and art history at Yale University School of Art. During World War II, he served in the Ninth Air Force in Europe as an officer intelligence and interpreter and in 1949 he returned to France, entered the Atelier Fernand Léger in Montmartre and settled permanently in Paris. He participated in numerous exhibitions, including the Salon de Mai in 1952. His paintings are in private collections in the United States, England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In addition to painting and translating, Rosin worked for UNESCO, the Council of Europe, Time-Life, Le Monde and La Vie Française and for a period was assistant to the European head of the International Refugee Committee.