Description
The painting depicts the famous “Valley of the Wolves,” an estate purchased in 1807 by the writer François-René de Chateaubriand, who composed many of his works at the manor. In 1816, Chateaubriand encountered serious financial difficulties, which forced him first to rent out the property and, a year later, to sell it. It then passed into the hands of the de La Rochefoucauld family, who owned it for nearly a century.
In 1914, the estate was acquired by Dr. Henry Le Savoureux, an “alienist” – a term used in the early 20th century for doctors specializing in mental illness – who established a sanatorium there. In 1929, Dr. Le Savoureux founded the Chateaubriand Association, which still has its headquarters on the estate.
Together with his wife, Sophie Lydie Plekhanov – the daughter of a Russian-Soviet publicist, philosopher, and revolutionary, one of Lenin’s “poputchiks” (fellow travelers) – Le Savoureux hosted numerous artists and writers at the property. Thanks to Sophie’s connections, many of these guests came from Eastern Europe and were either temporarily or permanently residing in France, including Marc Chagall, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, and most likely Vladislav Jahl. This suggests not only that Jahl moved within the right artistic circles but also that the subject of the painting – the “Valley of the Wolves” park surrounding the estate – was a frequent motif for artists who stayed with the Le Savoureux family.
