Louis Anquetin

Dr Chocquet, France
Acquired by the present owner in 1989

Paris, Galerie Brame & Lorenceau, Anquetin, La passion d'être peintre, 1991, no. 21, illustrated in the catalogue
Saint Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum & Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard, illustrated in the catalogue

The canvas is lined. There is a layer of varnish which prevents the UV light from fully penetrating but there appear to be several specks of paint loss with associated retouching towards the upper right corner, a 4cm. area of intermittent retouching to the left of the figure's forehead and three pinhead-sized spots of retouching below the figure's chin. All retouching is visible under UV light. This work is in overall good condition.
"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."

Louis Anquetin's striking appearance and artistic skill established him as one of the leading lights of the Parisian artistic and literary avant garde; 'he established a reputation as a brilliant, innovatory artist and leader of a café-cabaret circle centred on Aristide Bruant's Le Mirliton in Montmartre... His subject matter included townscapes, café-cabaret scenes, nudes, the racecourse and fashionable women: he absorbed and discarded with equal speed styles derived from Lautrec and Renoir' (John House & Mary Ann Stevens, Post-Impressionism, Cross-Currents in European Painting, London, 1979, p. 28).

During his frenetic career, Anquetin's work evolved through a range of different influences and styles, ranging from Degas to Japanese prints, and also the Impressionists. The present work, dating from 1891, is a highlight of the artist's oeuvre. The dramatic gaze of the subject holds our eye as it pierces through the veil in a tone that is intimate, almost flirtatious. Anquetin takes his cues from a range of artists though in this lot perhaps the biggest homage is paid to Lautrec, the bold outlines and slightly sordid subject matter of Parisian nightlife are typical of Lautrec's oeuvre. Yet Anquetin was the arguably the founder of a slight, though important movement that provided the artistic score for the decorous scenes of Paris at the end of the 19^th Century: Cloisonnism.

His old school friend Edouard Dujardin created the moniker, and in the Revue Indépendante used his analysis of Anquetin's work to link this style to the symbolist movement; 'In painting as well as in literature the representation of nature is idle fancy... On the contrary, the aim of painting, of literature, is to give the sensation of things through means specific to painting and literature; what ought to be expressed is not the image by the character [of the model]. Therefore, why retrace the thousands of insignificant details the eye perceives. One should select the essential trait and reproduce it – or, even better, produce it. An outline is sufficient to represent a face. Scorning photography, the painter will set out to retain, with the smallest possible number of characteristic lines and colours, the intimate reality, the essence of the object he selects' (E. Dujardin, 'Le Cloisonnisme', in Revue Indépendante, Paris, 19^th May 1888).