Piet Mondrian

Collection S. B. Slijper, Blaricum, Pays-Bas
Eugene Victor Thaw & Co. Inc., New York
John Blair Linn Goodwin, New York
Collection Anthony P. Russo, New York
Vente : William Doyle Galleries, New York, 20 mai 2008, lot 2106
M. et Mme Joseph P. Carroll, New York (acquis lors de cette vente)

Toronto, The Art Gallery of Toronto, 1966
Santa Fe, The Museum of New Mexico, John B. L. Goodwin Collection, 1972

Joop M. Joosten & Robert P. Welsh, Piet Mondrian : Catalogue raisonné, vol. I : The Naturalistic Works (until early 1911), New York, Blaricum, 1998, no. A615, reproduit p. 405
Marty Bax, Complete Mondrian, Blaricum, 2001, p. 439
Dr. Robert P. Welsh, 'The Hortus Conclusus of Piet Mondrian', Connoisseur Magazine, vol. 161, no. 647, février 1966, p. 133, no. 6, reproduit

The masonite is sound. Examination under UV light reveals a very thin horizontal scratch running below the main motif (as visible in the catalogue illustration) which has been partially retouched. Apart from a few minor scattered spots of retouching in the background, this work is in 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 'Piet Mondriaan' (lower left), oil on composition board laid to masonite. Executed circa 1909. 



"Le nombre, le format important et les fréquentes expositions de ces compositions attestent de l'intensité avec laquelle Mondrian s'est attaché à la description des fleurs dans ces années là". (Robert P. Welsh, Piet Mondrian, Catalogue raisonné, op. cit., p. 396).

Foxtail Lily, peint à Amsterdam avant que Mondrian ne parte pour Paris en 1912, est une des premières compositions pré-cubiques de l'artiste. On recense cinq études similaires à Foxtail Lily dont Foxtail Lily : Study V (lot 55),  une étude au fusain, qui semble être le modèle préparatoire de cette composition finale à l'huile. Mais aucune ne semble avoir été exposée ni répertoriée du vivant de l'artiste, sans doute car Mondrian n'assignait un titre d'espèces spécifiques qu'à certaines de ces compositions florales, les autres étant simplement intitulée "Fleur(s)".

A cette époque, l'intérêt de Mondrian pour les fleurs et les paysages "exotiques", tel le Lys Foxtail (Eremurus stenophyllus, aussi connu comme la Bougie de Désert) introduite en Europe via les Iraniens et les Afghans en 1875, est la preuve du "détachement de l'artiste vis-à-vis de son pays natal qui cesse dès lors d'être la source première de son inspiration" (ibid, p.395).

Le soin apporté ici aux circonvolutions des pétales se rapproche de la minutie du Pommier, exemple type de la Période de L'Arbre Bleu des années 1908-1910, où l'artiste utilisait avec dévotion un spectre de couleurs intenses et lumineuses. Par le biais d'une technique pointilliste bien personnelle, Mondrian applique de larges bandes de peintures où le bleu domine, rythmées par de petits coups de pinceaux énergiques ponctués de rouge, sans omettre de dessiner de délicats pétales blancs.

Foxtail Lily témoigne des innovations stylistiques majeures de cette époque qui précède le tournant de Mondrian vers l'abstraction dans les années 1910. Comme l'explique Welsh: "Il est important de noter que La Période de l'Arbre Bleu suggère déjà que le sujet était moins important que l'utilisation d'une couleur et d'un style prédominant à un certain stade de son développement. Même si le pommier est le motif le plus employé dans la réalisation de ce thème, Mondrian a également représenté des saules et des peupliers stylisés transposés dans d'autres tonalités que le bleu. Malgré ces considérations, la Période de l'arbre bleu doit être prise comme une référence signifiante d'un moment unique dans la carrière de l'artiste". (ibid, p. 433).

 

Painted during Piet Mondrian's final years of residence in Amsterdam before his move to Paris in the winter of 1911-1912, Foxtail Lily is an exquisite example of the most stylistically advanced phase of Mondrian's pre-cubist œuvre. In his discussion of Mondrian's naturalistic flower depictions of these years, Robert Welsh notes that 'the intensity with which by 1908 Mondrian returned to depictions of flowers is indicated by their number, their often relatively large size and their frequent public exhibition' (Robert P. Welsh, Piet Mondrian. Catalogue raisonné op. cit.. p. 396). There are five known studies relating to the present work and one such companion piece, Foxtail Lily: Study V (lot 55), executed in charcoal, would certainly seem to have served as a model for this version in oil. No member of the foxtail lily group is known to have been exhibited or otherwise catalogued during the artist's lifetime although it is perhaps significant that during these years Mondrian assigned specific species titles to only some of his exhibited floral subjects, the others he simply called 'Flower(s)'. Mondrian's predilection for locale-neutral flowers and landscapes during this period, including the foxtail lily (Eremurus stenophyllus, also known as Desert Candle) which was introduced into Europe from Iran and Afghanistan in 1875, is considered by Welsh to be evidence of 'a distinct diminution in the artist's devotion to his native capital city and its surrounding areas as a source for his artistic motifs' (ibid., p.395).

The artist's treatment of the petal convolutions in the present work approaches that found in The Apple Tree : Pointillist Version (fig. 1), an archetypal example of Mondrian's celebrated 'Blue Tree Period' which spanned the years 1908-1910 when the artist's devotion to the use of bright spectral colours in his naturalistic paintings was most intense. With his independently-conceived and intentionally 'splotchy' Pointillist technique, Mondrian applies broad bands of predominantly blue pigment in rhythmic, energetic strokes and interlaces pale red stipples with the delicate white petals. Foxtail Lily testifies to the major stylistic innovations which occurred in the artist's œuvre even before his move to Paris and towards abstraction. As Welsh explains: 'It is also significant that Mondrian's reference was to the Blue Tree Period rather than 'subject' or 'series', suggesting that the specific subject was less important than a dominant use of colour and style at a certain stage in his development. Indeed, although the apple tree was most frequently employed for realisation of this theme, other examples are willows and still others are stylised poplars in colours other than blue. ...All such considerations notwithstanding, Mondrian's use of the phrase 'blue tree period' must be taken as a meaningful reference to a singular moment in his development' (ibid., p. 433).