Lot 235
  • 235

Moïse Kisling

Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 USD
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Description

  • Moïse Kisling
  • Jeune fille assise
  • Signed Kisling, inscribed New York and dated 1943 (upper right)
  • Oil on canvas
  • 34 1/4 by 25 1/8 in.
  • 86.9 by 63.8 cm

Provenance

Robin Credit Corporation, New York (acquired directly from the artist and sold: Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, 1964, lot 82)
Collectors Art (acquired at the above sale)
Corporate Collection, Japan
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1995

Literature

Jean Kisling, ed., Kisling 1891-1953, vol. I, Paris, 1971, no. 87, illustrated p. 344

Condition

For a condition report prepared by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. please contact the Impressionist & Modern Art Department at +1 (212) 606-7360.
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

Moïse Kisling asserted that no artist past or present influenced his artistic style, but one cannot deny the similarities of the present painting to those painted by his best friend, Amedeo Modigliani (see fig. 1). Kisling met Modigliani shortly after moving to Paris from Poland in 1910, quickly becoming a key figure in the École de Paris and dubbed the “Prince of Montparnasse” by his cohorts.

The sensual shading and protracted gaze of this woman, however, reflect the sensitivity to form, feeling and pictorial essence that only Kisling could achieve. Her almond-shaped eyes—a trademark of Kisling’s portraiture and Modigliani's as well—and the energy of color show the sensuality and happiness Kisling strove to convey. “A beautiful girl in the nude fills me with joy, the desire to love, to be happy, and I would make the piece of cloth, the backdrop on which she poses, an expression of my delight” (quoted in Jean Kisling, op. cit., p. 37).