- 355
Kees van Dongen
Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Kees van Dongen
- Le Bouquet de roses
- Signed Van Dongen. (lower right); signed Van Dongen and dated 1923 (on the reverse); signed Van Dongen (on the stretcher)
- Oil on canvas
- 25 5/8 by 21 1/4 in.
- 65.1 by 54 cm
Literature
Louis Chaumeil, Van Dongen, L'Homme et l'artiste —La Vie et l'oeuvre, Geneva, 1967, no. 151
Condition
This painting is in very good condition. The canvas is not lined. The surface is richly-textured and well-preserved. The pigments are fresh and vibrant. Under UV light: some faint fluorescence indicates a small spot of retouching at the top of the white flower in the upper right and a few strokes along the extreme edges, 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.
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
Le Bouquet de roses epitomizes the vibrant palette of van Dongen’s Fauve output and illustrates his unique approach to the traditional still-life genre. This oil was painted in 1923, at a time when the Dutch artist was increasingly lauded as one of the most popular and provocative painters in the art world. It was during this time he returned to the subject of the still life and approached it with the same vigor he demonstrated in his greatest Fauve masterworks and society portraits which garnered him such widespread recognition.
The present composition is a vibrant and bold explosion of color. The multicolored roses shimmer against a dramatic backdrop of stormy sky and blazing orange field. To the left of the roses, van Dongen meticulously renders a church steeple, an image he would continue to depict in several of his later works, likely inspired by time he spent in Normandy. He freely deploys his Fauve palette throughout the composition, creating sharp contrasts between complementary colors, for example brilliant oranges and sapphire blues, thereby transforming his otherwise unassuming subject into a daringly avant-garde display. According to Denys Sutton, "[van Dongen] was a painter who found a natural means of expression in the use of thickly applied colour—bold stark reds, greens and blues, colors which, he once pointed out, held for him an almost symbolical meaning" (William E. Steadman & Denys Sutton, Cornelius Theodorus Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, 1971, pp. 20-28).
The present composition is a vibrant and bold explosion of color. The multicolored roses shimmer against a dramatic backdrop of stormy sky and blazing orange field. To the left of the roses, van Dongen meticulously renders a church steeple, an image he would continue to depict in several of his later works, likely inspired by time he spent in Normandy. He freely deploys his Fauve palette throughout the composition, creating sharp contrasts between complementary colors, for example brilliant oranges and sapphire blues, thereby transforming his otherwise unassuming subject into a daringly avant-garde display. According to Denys Sutton, "[van Dongen] was a painter who found a natural means of expression in the use of thickly applied colour—bold stark reds, greens and blues, colors which, he once pointed out, held for him an almost symbolical meaning" (William E. Steadman & Denys Sutton, Cornelius Theodorus Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, 1971, pp. 20-28).