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L’Heure du Thé [The Tea Interval], c.1928
Jacques-Emile Blanche (1861 – 1942)
Oil on canvas
Born and based in Paris, Jacques-Emile Blanche was a frequent visitor to London throughout his life and maintained close friendships with many British artists, writers and intellectuals. He was a devotee of the English social season and here depicts Lord’s during the tea-time interval of the Eton v Harrow match – one of its highlights.
In this composition the outlines of both the famous Pavilion and the newly built Grand Stand are abruptly curtailed, leaving us to focus on the fluid `impressionistic’ handling of the spectators as they take over the playing area. It provides an alternative yet highly effective scene of the social side of the game of cricket.
MCC Collections: bequest of Sir Paul Getty KBE, 2003
MCC Museum Number: TN.2009.2507
