Jean Dubuffet

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1960

Stockholm, National Museum, The Grace and Philip Sandblom Collection, 1981, p. 84, illustrated in colour

Max Loreau, Catalogue des Travaux de Jean Dubuffet, fasc. XII: Tableaux d'Assemblages, Lausanne 1969, p. 61, no. 62, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly brighter and softer in the original, with the creamy-white passages tending more towards pale blush-pink, the earth colours tending more towards an organic, slightly muted palette, the blues in the sky and the figure to softer baby-blue hue. The catalogue illustration does not fully convey the intricate layered canvas collage aspect of the composition, failing to revealthe three-dimensionality of the work. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are tiny artist's pinholes to some of the outer edges of each of the collaged elements. There are scattered matrices of fine and stable craquelure throughout. There are fine tension cracks along all four extreme overturn edges, some of which display raised edges with several small spots of associated paint loss. There is some very slight wear to each corner tip and the lower left corner lifts slightly in the collages area. There are a number of scattered isolated and unobtrusive media losses to the canvas collage elements possible inherent to the artist's working process. Examination under ultra violet light reveals a small spot of possible re-touching at the centre of the right hand edge.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Le Béret Rose is a wonderfully moving and lyrical evocation of Jean Dubuffet's obsession with experimentation; having moved from free association drawing through paper collage the artist arrived at the concept of using pre-painted canvas collage in November 1955 for which he coined the term Tableaux d'Assemblages. By cutting the canvas directly he negated the need for pencil drawing and allowed the scissors to dictate the realisation of the composition, often solely by intuition. Once he had created these distinct elements, the process of over-layering on the canvas created an ethereal tissue of representation defined by the emergence of unexpected juxtapositions of colour and texture. In concert with this, by cutting the canvas straight from the roll he allowed himself even greater freedom to experiment with composition, free from the fear of compromising the rest of the painting irretrievably with one false move. These simple yet evocative developments in the Tableaux d'Assemblages series are indicative of the artist's greatest achievements in innovation, as he himself related: "I can say with complete assurance that for anyone who might consider this method as at least a factor of improvisation and experimentation, as a spur to imagination, as a gymnastic exercise to free painting from inherited conventions and inhibiting prejudices, as a stimulant to inventiveness in every domain (subjects, composition, drawing, colouring) or at least as a preliminary means towards the realisation of future paintings that would not even resort to this method - it is extremely exciting and fruitful" (The artist quoted in Exhibition Catalogue, New York, M.O.M.A., The Work of Jean Dubuffet, 1980)