Marie Vassilieff

Paris, Grand Palais, Salon des Indépendants, 1920
Paris, Paul Poiret, 1923

The original canvas is slightly loose on the stretcher. There is a layer of surface dirt and discoloured varnish and minor staining in places. There are fine lines of craquelure in areas. UV light reveals a few minor spots of retouching to the upper right. Held in a simple black wood frame and unexamined out of frame.
"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."

A recently rediscovered masterpiece, Child with a Doll was identified in a photograph taken in Paul Poiret's Gallery in Paris, 1923, from its partial reflection on the display cabinet.

The theme of children appeared in Marie Vassilieff's work following the birth of her son in 1917. Painted over the course of the course of next five years, this series of around 30 paintings stands as an unqualified synthesis of the great artistic movements which appeared in Western art in the early twentieth century.

Along with Delaunay and Picabia, Vassilieff belonged to the Section d'Or, a group of artists associated with Orphism, an offshoot of the Cubist movement, who exhibited together at the Galerie la Boétie in 1920. This places her at the heart of the European avant-garde, and the convergence of Suprematist, Italian Futurist and Constructivist influences which run through Vassilieff's entire oeuvre.

At that time, Vassilieff was in charge of the design studios of Rolf de Maré's Swedish ballet company, a veritable cultural melting pot, where music, dance, painting and literature were united in choreography and design by leading artists working in France.  It therefore comes as no surprise that Vassilieff's own paintings should reflect so perfectly the artistic tendencies the age.

Probably exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Indépendents in 1920, the year which marked the return of the Salon to the Grand Palais and the first appearance of the Dadaist manifesto in Paris, Child with a Doll perfectly epitomises Modernism in painting, yet stands out as a completely unique composition. Vassilieff appears to have taken a child from a barren landscape by Malevich, placed them in a futurist setting and observed the result from the unsettling perspective of a Modernist viewpoint.

We are grateful to Claude Bernés for providing additional cataloguing for this lot.