Willem de Kooning

Cora de Vries, Amsterdam
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Contemporary Art, 5 & 6 May 1986, Lot 71
Private Collection, Stockholm

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate though the overall tonality is softer and cooler with fewer yellow hues and the green tends more towards apple in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are several very small and faint spots of foxing scattered throughout the exposed areas of board. The small pieces of masking tape across all four corners appears to be intrinsic to the composition. The lower corner tips curl very slightly with associated minor media loss at the lower right hand corner. There is a vertical 15cm extremely fine crack at the centre of the lower edge and several small media accretions to the centre of the lower half of the composition. There is a small lifting crease at the extreme upper edge towards the top right hand corner and a further smaller crease near the centre of the lower edge. The board is very lightly discoloured around the edges of the oil. There is an extremely faint horizontal impression two thirds of the way up the left hand edge. There is a minute spot of paint loss to an impasto peak directly above the signature.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Emerging from a sunshine yellow background embellished with rich flashes of emerald green, ruby red and sapphire blue, Woman is a sensuous example of de Kooning's groundbreaking exploration of the synthesis between figure and landscape. Her monumental form is built from wide, flat strokes of fluid oil, the swirling arcs of flesh-coloured pinks and creams creating a curvaceous figure which seems almost to melt into her verdant, even edenic, surroundings. De Kooning's famously sumptuous handling of oil here effortlessly constructs a robust and voluptuous figure, lush, rosy and sun-flecked; her arms raised as if heralding the dappled sunlight which envelops her. Glinting rays of light imbue the surface, suggesting the warmth of a sandy beach, the grasses softly wafting in a gentle breeze.

 

Executed in the early 1960s, at the height of de Kooning's engagement with abstract pastoral landscapes, Woman reveals the artist's versatility and the unrelenting draw of the figure in his oeuvre. The uncompromising brutality, harsh distortion and aggressive scale of his female figures from the 1950s were abandoned as de Kooning began to explore the Western tradition of the nude in nature. The youthful figure of Woman is playful, joyous, rounded and fleshy, embodying a luxurious idea of beauty. Her curved contours signal a departure from the flat angularity of her predecessors, and show de Kooning to be embracing a new softness and colourful vitality. While coaxing flesh out of oil paint, de Kooning simultaneously fused his figures irrevocably to their surroundings by melting outlines and bleeding softly dappled colour. Just as Woman emerges from her landscape, she dissolves back into it, subsumed by the sheer depth of de Kooning's masterful brushwork.