Lot 130
  • 130

Gustave Caillebotte

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Gustave Caillebotte
  • Bouquet de roses dans un vase de cristal
  • Signed G Caillebotte and dated 83 (lower left)
  • Oil on canvas
  • 24 by 19 7/8 in.
  • 61 by 50.5 cm

Provenance

Martial Caillebotte, France (the artist's brother; acquired circa 1894)
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 25, 1982, lot 10
Wildenstein & Co. Inc., New York
Paul R. & Mary Haas, Texas (acquired from the above in 1986 and sold: Sotheby’s, London, February 5, 2007, lot 54)
Acquired at the above sale

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Exposition rétrospective d'oeuvres de G. Caillebotte, 1894, no. 80

Literature

Marie Berhaut, "Catalogue des peintures et pastels" in Caillebotte, Paris, 1951, no. 203 (titled Bouquet de roses)
Marie Berhaut, Caillebotte: Sa Vie et son oeuvre, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels, Paris, 1978, no. 239, illustrated p. 162
David Bjelajac, Private Visions, The Paul and Mary Haas Collection of Art, New York, 1987, illustrated in color n.p.
Marie Berhaut, Gustave Caillebotte. Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels, Paris, 1994, no. 253, illustrated p. 168

Condition

Very good condition. The canvas is lined. There is also a dust lining which is loosely attached to the reverse of the work. Under UV light, one spot of retouching to the lower right in the table.
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

Although horticultural subjects dominated his art during the later part of his career, Caillebotte only began to paint floral still-lifes in 1881. Turning his attention away in 1880 from depictions of the Parisian landscape, Caillebotte began to spend a significant amount of time considering the lush environs of his newly renovated country home in Petit Gennevilliers. Throughout the 1880s and up until his death in 1894, his artistic concentration was focused on gardens and floral motifs, which were no doubt inspired by his surroundings. Caillebotte's genuine love for flowers resulted in a series of rich compositions that, according to the contemporary critic Gustave Geffroy, “colored and perfumed the atmosphere.” 

In Bouquet de roses dans un vase de cristal, Caillebotte conveys the sensuality of his subject by creating sharp textural contrasts throughout the composition. He renders the fullness of each rose petal with rich impasto, whereas he conveys the smoothness of the crystal vase by using more flattened and modulated brushstrokes. This composition remained with the artist until his death, when it was then inherited by his brother Martial. Because the artist's family was financially well off and had little financial incentive to sell works from their collection, this picture presumably stayed with the artist's heirs for the next several decades.