Maurice de Vlaminck

Private Collection, France
Sale: Tajan, Paris, March 28, 2001, lot 19
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Fukushima, Prefectoral Museum of Art; Osaka, Art Hall of Kintetsu-Abeno; Nagoya, Matzuzakaya Museum; Kyoto, Grand Hall of Takashimaya & Tokyo, Bunkamura Museum, Maurice de Vlaminck, 1996-97

Excellent condition. The work is unlined, surface is clean. Under UV: no apparent inpainting.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1907, after visiting two exhibitions of Paul Cézanne's work at the Salon d'Automne and Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Vlaminck found himself deeply inspired by Cézanne's unique chromatic artifice and planar construction. Envious of Cézanne's accomplishments at rendering nature and volume through color, Vlaminck began moving away from the aggressive style and bold, primary colors that defined his Fauve years, later explaining that, "Preoccupied with light I neglected the object...either you think nature or you think light" (Maurice de Vlaminck, Dangerous Corner, London, 1961, p. 15).

Painted circa 1911-13, Les grands peupliers is a quintessential example of this influence developing into Vlaminck's "Cézannesque" style, characterized by the prominent deep blue-green tonality and wide, expressive brush-strokes. This new departure in Vlaminck's art "borrows most of the structural principles of Cézanne's mature landscape paintings and exaggerates them for expressive purpose... Each form and color vie for dominance over others, and an ordinary landscape is given a heightened level of energy" (Richard Brettel, An Impressionist Legacy, New York, 1986, p. 102).

Cézanne's legacy permeates the entire composition of the present work, from the diagonal hatching of the foliage to the structured, geometric forms of the distant village. Even the choice of vantage point, framed by thin poplar trunks, creates a decidedly "Cézannesque" atmosphere (see Fig. 1). Still, Vlaminck paints this subject with tremendous authenticity and originality. Having spent the majority of his life in the villages along the Seine to the South-East of Paris, it seems natural that Vlaminck chose a familiar setting to apply his more prudent, tender techniques. Les grands peupliers is likely a portrait of the riverside town Le Petit Andelys, with its distinctive steeple visible at center, but moreover it is an enduring testament to Vlaminck's study of the master of Aix-en-Province and the mature style of landscapes that comprises his Cézanne period.