Jean Metzinger

Léonce Rosenberg (Galerie L'Effort Moderne), Paris
Knoedler & Co., New York
Private Collection, New York (sold: Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, December 5, 1962, lot 109)
Acquired at the above sale and thence by descent

Original canvas. The surface of the work is dirty and would benefit from a light cleaning. There is a pin head sized stain on the white pigment near center of right edge which should be cleaned. Under UV light: a four by one inch area fluoresces in the orange pigment of the central tower, as well as in a 1.5 inch area in orange pigment at bottom center. These two areas (and several others) fluoresce, but seem to be the artist's later reworking of these areas and are original to the work. Otherwise fine. Work is in very good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

After participating in the Cubist movement, Jean Metzinger exhibited increasing individualism in his work from the 1920's. Forms in these works become progressively streamlined and contain geometrically simplified elements that embody the Art Deco aesthetic of the early 1920's and 30's.  As Joann Moser writes, "... the unusual iconography of these works distinguishes them from the work of any other artist and engages the viewer's imagination to a degree that many earlier works do not. The introduction of spatial complexities... counterbalances the strongly decorative appearance of these works" (Joann Moser, Jean Metzinger in Retrospect (exhibition catalogue), The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa, 1985, p. 104).

Paysage is an extraordinary example of iconography counterbalanced by layered spatial elements. A brick building is placed at the center of the shallow picture plane accompanied by an additional structure.  In the background a cityscape emerges from a yellow fragment that slants to the right and a larger plane of blue sky leans heavily toward the left balancing the composition.  Plumes of smoke billow up from behind the central structures and from the right foreground.  Through the layering of fragments and iconography Metzinger alludes to the new urban existence dominated by industrialization. This fascination with industrial modernity was shared by his contemporaries including Fernand Léger (fig 1). While Léger's work contains figures that occupy and interact within the picture plane, the buildings in Metzinger's Paysage take on a personality of their own. The viewer is made to recognize their monumentality and dominating role in urban existence. As Jodi Hauptman writes, "The continued deployment of fragmentation, dissonance, and contrast not only is relevant to the realms of aesthetics and representation but suggests a consistency in the state of the city itself - and our understanding of it" (Jodi Hauptman, Fernand Léger, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1998, p. 83).   

Fig. 1 Fernand Léger, L'Homme au chien, 1921, oil on canvas, Private Collection