Lot 383
  • 383

Louis Marcoussis

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Louis Marcoussis
  • Nature morte au menu et au siphon
  • Signed Marcoussis (lower left)
  • Oil on canvas
  • 21 3/4 by 15 1/8 in.
  • 55.2 by 38.4 cm

Provenance

Private Collection, Paris
Galerie de l'Institut, Paris
Galerie Philippe Reichenbach, Houston
Acquired from the above in 1960 and thence be descent

Exhibited

Cologne, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Louis Marcoussis (1883-1941), Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Gravuren 1910-1940, 1960

Literature

Jean Lafranchis, Louis Marcoussis, Paris, 1961, no. P. 41, illustrated p. 244

Condition

In very good condition. The work is strip lined. There is some minor cracking mostly in the upper part of the work, in the darkest pigments, and along the edges. The artist's technique employed scraping the sur face of the canvas, to reveal under layers of pigments, which you can see here in the edge of the table, the card face, and top of the bottle, and in a number of other places. This scraping down is inherent to the process. Under UV: uneven varnish layer fluoresces, and there are a few small retouches in the lower left quadrant. Otherwise fine.
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.

Catalogue Note

As the Impressionist movement gave way to the Divisionist movement, paving the way for the modern era, the questions asked in artists' circles at the turn of the century were vexing—in what direction was pictorial and sculptural art headed? If one movement were responsible for shaking the foundation of figurative painting and paving the way for abstraction, as witnessed in Italy with Futurism, Russia with Constructivism and Holland with Neo-Plasticism, then without doubt that movement was Cubism.

Café society in fin de siècle Paris was the crucible for debate amongst artists and writers. Long hours of heated exchanges between artists, at times aided by excesses of alcohol, ended in fisticuffs. Still, the trappings of the cafés provided ample subject matter to be captured by artists. In the present work, a panoply of objects populate a café tabletop providing the viewer with the accoutrements associated with smoke-filled Parisian cafés. The menu, playing card and pipe occupy the foreground of the composition. A theatrical stroke of drama has been created by the inclusion of a raised curtain that frames the "siphon" or fizz bottle and glass.