Kees van Dongen

Bernheim Jeune, Paris
Sale: Palais Galliera, Paris, 12th June 1964, lot 60
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 7th March 1973, lot 19
Private Collection, France (sale: Sotheby's, London, 13th October 1993, lot 44)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Vollard, Kees van Dongen, 1904, no. 12 (titled Femme Nue)
Brussels, Galerie Govaerts, De private verzamelingen, 1973
Rotterdam, Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum; Lyons, Musée des Beaux-Arts & Paris, Institut Néerlandais, The Van Dongen Nobody Knows, Early and Fauvist Drawings 1895-1912, 1996-97, no. 5, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Monaco, Salle d'expositions du Quai Antoine-Ier; Montréal, Musée des Beaux-Arts & Rotterdam, Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, Kees Van Dongen, 2008-09, no. 8, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Barcelona, Museo Picasso, Kees Van Dongen, 2009, illustrated in the catalogue

Louis Chaumeil, Van Dongen, L'homme et l'artiste- La vie et l'œuvre, Geneva, 1967, no. 12, illustrated n.p. (as dating from 1897-99)

Original canvas. There are fine very lines of retouching to the background, most notably to the top left corner above her right shoulder and the table cloth. There is also a small pinhole towards the upper centre with associated retouching. There are a few minor specks of retouching to the sitter, all visible under UV light. Otherwise the work is in good condition. Colours: The tonality in the original is slightly cooler.
"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."

Delicately enveloping the figure with an aura of solitude, Nu au fauteuil is a poetic and intimate depiction of the mood of the fin-de-siècle. Painted during Van Dongen's sojourn at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam, the present work is testament to the artist's constant concern with conveying atmosphere through the use of colour and composition. Van Dongen successfully portrays the themes and concerns of modernity, and in this respect it invites comparison with Edgar Degas's iconic portrayal of urban loneliness, L'Absinthe in the Musée d'Orsay (see fig. 1). The seated figure is lost in her thoughts, gently leaning towards the viewer, but gazing far beyond. Focussing on the primary role of colour, the pastel tones on the rosy cheeks and blue piercing eyes of the sitter, along with the bright yellow of her ring, serve to create a harmonic contrast to the purple tones in the background. The Parisian critic Felix Fénéon has described Van Dongen's sitters as 'singularly expressive figures of women, combing their hair, washing themselves, going to bed, making love' (quoted in Anita Hopmans, The Van Dongen Nobody Knows, Early and Fauvist Drawings 1895-1912 (exhibition catalogue), Rotterdam, 1996, p. 57).