Le Printemps (Spring) is by Marguerite Sandoz-Jeanneret, a painter seldom mentioned in art history about whom little information is available. Reportedly trained by Locle artist Fritz Huguenin Lassauguette (1842-1926), she was born and lived her entire life in Le Locle. According to research, she was part of the family behind the J. & M. Sandoz Foundation, a home and workshop for troubled teenagers that still exists today in Le Locle. The MBAL has four of her works in its collection, some of which were acquired between 1890 and 1892 by the Société des beaux-arts et du musée at the origins of the MBAL, indicating recognition during her lifetime.
Le Printemps, depicting a young girl bending to smell spring flowers, was presented at MBAL during the exhibition la scia del monte ou les utopistes magnétiques (2024), in dialogue with the Monte Verità historical archive.
Oil on canvas, inv. 1651
