Mané-Katz

Brandler Collection
Sale: Vichy Vente aux Encheres Publiques Hotel des Ventues, May 22, 1999

J.-M. Aimot, Mané-Katz: L'Art et la Vie, Éditions Marcel Seheur, 1933, illustrated
Robert S. Aries and Jacques O'Hana, Mané-Katz: Complete Work, 1972, tome 2

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has never been removed from its original stretcher. The paint layer is extremely dirty yet stable and seems to be completely undamaged. The painting should be cleaned and lightly varnished, but is otherwise in beautiful condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Born to a Jewish Orthodox family in Ukraine in 1894, Mané-Katz began his study of art at an early age and attended the School of Fine Arts in Kiev, then the École des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1913. His classes at the École des Beaux Arts under Fernand Cormon shaped his artistic style, and influences of Rembrandt, the Fauves, and even Cubism are abundant throughout his oeuvre. He became close with Pablo Picasso and other prominent artists, and he joined the Jewish School of Paris art movement.

Soon after the beginning of World War I, Mané-Katz chose to return to the Ukraine and taught at the academy in Kharkiv in 1917. He returned to Paris shortly thereafter in 1921, yet his brief years in Ukraine deeply influenced his repertoire, and he devoted the majority of his artwork to themes of underprivileged, lower class life in Eastern Europe—tributes to the reality of life in Ukraine at the time. Near the end of his life, he donated his works to a museum in Haifa, Israel, which was created in his honor. The Mané-Katz Museum houses an extensive collection which tracks his progression as an artist.

The present lot recalls his interest in both Rembrandt and Expressionism. The artist uses sweeping, loose brushwork and a soft palette to reveal an intimate glance at a young, beautiful woman lost in thought. This work was most likely illustrated in J.M. Aimot's Mané-Katz: L'Art et la Vie, in 1933, though the reproduction shows that the painting was unsigned. Curators at the Mané-Katz Museum in Israel suggest that the work may have been signed at a later date.