Henri Hayden

Turin, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Pittori d'oggi-Francia, Italia, 1959, no. 125
Bourges, Maison de la Culture, Henri Hayden, Rétrospective, 1908-1970, 1970, no. 15
Paris, Grand Palais, Société des artistes indépendants, 84e Exposition Annuelle. L'Art 1912-1919, 1973
Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Modigliani à Montparnasse, 1988

From his first landscapes inspired by the school of Pont-Aven through to his Cubist years and his final style adopted in the 1950s, Henri Hayden's long artistic career, spanning from 1907 to 1970, well illustrates the evolution of twentieth century Modern Art. Hayden was greatly influenced by the 1907 Cézanne retrospective at the Paris Salon d'Automne, as were many of his contemporaries. He rapidly adopted a more structural approach which is well illustrated by the present work. Painted in 1914, Nature Morte aux artichaux, represents a turning point in the artist's style. The large canvas is a hommage to Cézanne through it warm and contrasting colours as well as in the gentle tilting of the table towards the viewer. However, the fruits, slightly broken down into their geometric forms, prefigure  Hayden's cubist period which culminated in 1918 with Les trois musiciens, now in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris.