Chaïm Soutine

Please note that measurements in inches are incomplete in the printed catalogue and should read 23 5/8 x 28 5/8 in. The canvas is not lined. There is no evidence of retouching visible under UV light. Apart from some minimal hairline craquelures running vertically in the central part of the composition this 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. 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."

signed 'Soutine' (lower right), oil on canvas. Painted circa 1918-19.


Peint vers 1918-19, cette vue des environs de Paris compte parmi les plus anciens paysages de Soutine et témoigne déjà du style nerveux et fiévreux qui fera la renommée de l'artiste.

Arrivé à Paris en 1913, Soutine a quitté la Ruche pour s'installer Cité Falguière où il partage son atelier avec Modigliani. Outre ses nombreux portraits et natures mortes, il est un autre genre que l'artiste affectionne : celui du paysage. Il représente ainsi des vues de Clamart - où il rend visite à son ami Kikoïne marié - parmi lesquelles cette maison au toit rouge de 1918-19. La beauté de la campagne avoisinante lui donne l'occasion de développer un naturalisme puissant où les motifs végétaux, celui de l'arbre en particulier, occupent une place essentielle. Si une bâtisse mystérieuse aux couleurs blanche et rouge occupe le centre de la composition, le sujet n'est pas à proprement parler le bâtiment, mais l'écrin de verdure dans lequel il s'intègre et qui occupe littéralement les premier et arrière plans.

S'il est ici un peintre dont la parenté avec l'art de Soutine est déterminante, Cézanne est sans nul doute cet artiste : "Cette façon qu'a Cézanne de rigoureusement découper et fragmenter l'espace dans lequel sont enfermées les formes, cet écrasement des "solides en figures plates" devint plus qu'une simple astuce picturale pour Soutine. L'artiste transforme cette construction plastique en une métaphore extrêmement personnelle : elle devient un moyen d'exprimer cette fusion inévitable des formes et des sujets, cette personnification des formes, des chairs et des pigments, fondamentale dans ses paysages, ses natures mortes et ses portraits" (Catalogue d'exposition : Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 2009, p. 65).

Tandis que les frondaisons des arbres et la rectitude de leur tronc envahissent et dynamisent la toile, les herbes hautes, les haies ainsi que les massifs servent de soubassement à cette composition. Outre cette structure et ce cadrage classiques - l'artiste restant fidèle à la vue qui s'offre à lui sur le motif - la touche de Soutine, riche en matière, s'épaissit, sa palette s'éclaire, la couleur se diversifie et absorbe la surface de la toile, annonçant déjà l'éclatement des tons qui se manifestera, à peine quelques semaines plus tard, dans le midi.

 

Painted circa 1918-19, this view of the Parisian suburbs is one of the earliest known landscapes by Soutine and already bears the hallmarks of the vigorous, passionate style that would seal the artist's reputation.

Arriving in Paris in 1913, Soutine left La Ruche and moved to the Cité Falguière where he shared a studio with Modigliani. Aside from his numerous portraits and still lives, the artist was fond of another genre, that of the landscape. Thus he began to depict views of Clamart – where he visited his married friend Kikoïne – including this red-roofed house from 1918-19. The beauty of the neighbouring countryside afforded him the opportunity to develop a powerful naturalism in which organic motifs, in particular trees, play an essential role. Though a mysterious white and red house occupies the centre of this composition, the subject is not really the building, but the green verge in which it is nestled, which occupies both the foreground and background.

If there is one painter whose work can be decisively compared with that of Soutine, it is undoubtedly Cézanne: "The way in which Cézanne rigorously crops and fragments the space surrounding his forms, this crushing of "solids into flat figures" becomes more than a mere pictorial technique for Soutine. The artist transforms this visual composition into an extremely personal metaphor: it becomes a means for expressing the inevitable fusion of forms and subjects, the personification of forms, flesh and pigments, that is so fundamental in his landscapes, his still lives and his portraits" (Exhibition catalogue : Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 2009, p. 65).

While the foliage of the trees and their straight trunks dominates and energises the canvas, the tall grasses and reeds as well as the clumps of bushes form the bedrock of the composition.  Aside from this structure and classical framing – the artist remains faithful to the view presented to him – Soutine's touch, rich with paint, thickens, his palette lightens, colours diversify and absorb the surface of the canvas, already heralding the explosion of tones that would be revealed, a mere few weeks later, in the Mediterranean.