Raoul Dufy

Acquired by the present owner in 2002

Executed on cream wove paper, possibly laid down on card. There is an overmount attached to the backboard and possibly the mount that would require a restorer's attention to be removed. Apart from several spots of discolouration and some very light foxing, this work is in overall good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate although the blues are more azure and vibrant and the paper tone is warmer in the original.
"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."

The following collection of works by Raoul Dufy spans his entire career and illustrates both his passion for colour and the qualities of compositional order and figurative clarity he brought to his oeuvre. Dufy is best known for his colourful Fauve landscapes, but his mature work incorporates the influences of Cezanne and Gauguin with his Fauvist palette to create an idealised vision of the French landscape that is uniquely his own.

Two works in this collection were created in the early period of Dufy's career in Paris. Whilst studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Dufy's art evolved away from his academic training towards a more Impressionistic style under the influence of Boudin, Jongkind, Monet and Pissarro. La Place de Clichy (lot 142) combines a typical Impressionist subject with the grey tonalities of Dufy's Impressionist palette, whilst Paysage aux Martigues (lot 141) shows Dufy experimenting with different types of brushstroke in his early career.

The principal artistic watershed in Dufy's career occurred in 1905 when he saw Matisse's Luxe, calme et volupté at the Salon d'Automne. It was not so much the Divisionist technique that impressed the young painter – he was already familiar with Signac's work from an exhibition in December 1904 – but colours which seemed to express the inner sensations of the painter. This love of colour was intensified in later years by visits to the south of France, and further afield to Morocco and Algeria, which taught him the importance of light; 'Light is the soul of colour..., without light, colour is lifeless' (Letter to Andre Lhote, 1943, quoted in Jacques Lassaigne, Raoul Dufy, Geneva, 1951, p. 30).

The three later works in this collection illustrate Dufy's technique of allowing colour to overspill the outline of forms, a practice derived from his wood engravings and work on fabrics. The autonomy of colour and line invests his work with a peculiar intensity and dynamism, and this freedom of expression defines Dufy's modernist vision of harmony and serenity. Dufy's landscapes illustrate the fact that despite its perceived radicalism, the Fauve landscape was also inspired by a vision of a modernist utopia that had its origins in the classical landscape tradition. Dufy's late landscapes were inspired by his love of Claude Lorrain, and the idealisation of nature and luminosity of his work has its roots in the western tradition of Arcadian landscape painting. This wonderful collection of works showcases the evolution of Dufy's artistic career, and embodies the qualities of sweetness and light that Dufy brought to his light-filled landscapes.