Henri Martin

Sale: Bonham's and Butterfield's, Los Angeles, November 19, 2003, lot 124
Richard Green Fine Paintings, London
Waterhouse and Dodd, London
Acquired from the above on January 31, 2004

Good condition. Canvas has a glue-lining. Surface has scattered, tiny lines of craquelure scattered throughout, otherwise the surface is in excellent condition. Under UV light, scattered dots and small lines of inpainting in sky, particularly in center of sky. A 2-inch line of inpainting is also visible under UV light in the beach at lower center.
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.

The village of Collioure, situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees not far from the Spanish border, already boasted a rich artistic tradition by the time Martin settled there in 1923. As early as 1905, Signac, Matisse and Derain had incorporated the stunning Mediterranean light and deep pinks and browns of Collioure's seaside buildings into their early fauve paintings. The appeal of Collioure both to the Fauvists and indeed to Martin himself lay in the remoteness of its location and its freedom from industrialization, retaining a mythical, untouched quality; "The tall, orangey-pink bell tower (instantly recognisable in so many of Matisse's paintings, see Fig. 1), was a converted lighthouse originally built, according to legend, by the arabs" (Hilary Spurling, The Unknown Matisse, A Life of Henri Matisse: The Early Years, 1869-1908, London, 1998, p. 299).

Martin was too much of an individual to have been constrained by the stringent tenets of Post-Impressionism as laid down by Seurat and Signac, yet this work represents a confident and original assimilation of their call for a carefully modulated palette combined with pictorial harmony and orchestration of line. What results is a scintillating exploration of the play of light on water and geometric shapes in a landscape.

Fig. 1, Henri Matisse, Les Toits de Collioure, 1905, oil on canvas, The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg