Raoul Dufy

George Jackowski, Le Havre
M. Courty, Paris
Mme. A. Rouzaud, Paris
Perls Galleries, New York
Sale: Sotheby's, London, April 21, 1971, lot 48
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, November 11, 1987, lot 50
Private Collection, Switzerland

Tokyo, Seibu Gallery & Kanazawa, Municiple Museum of Ishikawa, Exposition Les Fauves, 1971, no. 22, illustrated in the catalogue

Jean Melas Kyriazi, Van Dongen et la Fauvisme, Lausanne, 1971, illustrated p. 27
Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. I, Geneva, 1973, no. 158, illustrated p. 140
Marcel Giry, Le Fauvisme, ses origins, son evolution, Neuchâtel, 1981, no. 107, illustrated p. 210

In excellent condition. The canvas is unlined. Very faint central stretcher bar mark. Surface is slightly dirty. Under UV no inpainting is apparent.
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.

Les Pêcheurs à la ligne depicts a scene along the Channel coast at Sainte-Adresse where Dufy worked during the summer of 1907. Its brilliant color and immediate application of paint portrays Dufy's embrace of Fauvism. A dramatic shift in his work had been prompted two years earlier by a visit to the 1905 Salon d'Automne, where the vibrantly colored canvases of Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck and others, who would be labeled Les Fauves or "wild beasts," encouraged his move away from illusionistic description and traditional pictorial devices towards the application of paint in broad areas and bold design. Particularly struck by Matisse's Luxe, calme et volupté (1904-05), Dufy noted that "At the sight of this picture I understood all the new reasons for painting, and Impressionist realism lost its charm for me as I contemplated the miracle of the imagination introduced into design and color. I immediately understood the new pictorial mechanics."

Indeed, while Dufy's earlier views of Sainte-Adresse recall precedents set by Eugène Boudin and Claude Monet, here extraneous details are suppressed in favor of clear zones representing the boardwalk, sea and sky, regions which are subtly puncuated by notational figures, fishing rods and boats. As John Elderfield has noted, "When Dufy looked to the ocean for his subjects his special floating colorism was further developed in the isolated arcs, curves, and even circles he began to use" (John Elderfield, The "Wild Beasts:" Fauvism and Its Affinities, New York, 1976, p. 78).