- 36
Kees van Dongen
Description
- Kees van Dongen
- FEMME AUX BIJOUX
- signed Van Dongen (upper right); signed Van Dongen and dated Nov. 29 on the stretcher
- oil on canvas
- 130.5 by 97.5cm.
- 51 3/8 by 38 3/8 in.
Provenance
Wally Findlay Gallery, Paris (acquired from the above in 1981)
Private Collection (acquired from the above. Sold: Sotheby's, New York, 5th November 2004, lot 227)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Tokyo, Isetan Museum, Great Artists of the Century - The Wally Findlay Collection, 1981, no. 35
Catalogue Note
Known as the principal portraitist among the Fauve artists, Van Dongen executed portraits inspired by his visits to the cabarets and cafés where dancers performed in exotic costumes, as well as those of members of high society. In 1918, the artist began a relationship with Léo Jacob, also known as Jasmy La Dogaresse, who helped launch his career among Parisian fashion circles. In 1922 the couple moved to a new residence in rue Juliette Lamber, where Van Dongen held exhibitions and Jasmy hosted extravagant parties attended by influential members of society. Writing about this period of Van Dongen’s career, Denys Sutton commented: ‘During the 1920s, Van Dongen became one of the most talked of figures in the French art world and it is only necessary to run through the volume of press cuttings belonging to [his daughter] to be aware of the fact that his name was news. He was a frequent visitor to Deauville, where the smart world gathered, and to the cabarets and restaurants of Paris. What appealed to him about the années folles were their movement and gaiety. He once said: “I passionately love the life of my time so animated, so feverish! Ah! Life is even more beautiful than painting”’ (D. Sutton in Cornelius Theodorus Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), Tucson, 1971, p. 46).