Henri Lebasque

Private Collection, France

This work is in good condition. The canvas is not lined. There is an intermittent line of retouching running horizontal to the top edge. There are intermittent small spots of retouching to the top left and top right edges, visible under UV light.
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.
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Along with his fellow artists Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard, Lebasque focused his attention on domestic subjects, attempting to create a feeling of intimisme in his works. By the mid-1920s, after his move to Le Cannet on the French Riviera, nudes became his most common subject, and these sensuous studies are in many ways the "culmination of his intimist manner of painting - the celebration of the female form as fertile, warm and inspiring" (Lisa Banner, Lebasque (exhibition catalogue), Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, 1986, p. 70).

In Nue au fauteuil the bright Mediterranean sun floods into the room from the left of the nude, creating an atmosphere of space and light around the model. The pastel colors and patterned fabrics exemplify the influence of Matisse, whose work had exercised a profound effect on Lebasque since the 1905 Salon d'Automne. The combination of the sensuous lines of the nude and the light, airy brushwork and a pastel palette create a scene of languorous intimacy that evokes both the atmosphere and pace of Riviera life.