Chaïm Soutine

Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland
Glenway Wescott, New York
Helen Serger, La Boétie, Inc., New York
John Heller Gallery, New York
The Ritter Foundation, New York (acquired in 1959 and sold: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, October 25, 1972, lot 41)
Modarco Advisory Service, Geneva (acquired in 1972)
Knoedler-Modarco, S.A., New York (acquired in 1978)
Galerie Internazionale, Milan
Private Collection
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 11, 1987, lot 79
Sale: Christie's, London, June 26, 1989, lot 53
Gasiunasen Gallery, Palm Beach
Acquired from the above in 2001

New York, The Museum of Modern Art & Cleveland Museum of Art, 1950-51
Palm Beach, Florida, Society of the Four Arts, 1952, no. 30, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Fine Arts Associates,  Paintings from the Ritter Foundation, 1959, no. 13, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture from Private Collections, 1966, no. 175, illustrated in the catalogue
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968, no. 75, illustrated in the catalogue
Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 1968, no. 41, illustrated in the catalogue
Brooklyn Museum, Summer Exhibition, 1971
Brooklyn Museum, Summer Exhibition, 1972

Margaret Breuning, Art Digest, November 15, 1950, illustrated p. 11
Pierre Courthion, Soutine, Peintre du dechirant, Lausanne, 1972,     no. 280A,  illustrated p. 280
Joseph Chazades, "Anvers: Modarco ou le charme discret de la grande banque,"  in L'Oeil, Paris, 1975, no. 245, illustrated p. 81
Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Chaim Soutine Catalogue Raisonne Werkverzeichnis II, Germany, 1993, no. 160, illustrated p. 743

Panel is sound. Surface retains a rich, textured impasto. Half inch area around perimeter shows minor abrasion from a prior frame as well as a few pinholes in the panel, presumably part of that framing process. Back of panel is gessoed. Under UV light no inpainting is apparent. 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.
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.

Chaïm Soutine's childhood and early adulthood were marked by extreme poverty and deprivation. In 1923 the famous American collector Albert Barnes began to voraciously acquire Soutine's work; as a result, the interest of other collectors increased and Soutine's prices rose dramatically. By the mid-1930s, when the present work was painted, he was financially secure and increasingly eccentric, but his paintings remained grounded in his everyday inspirations of landscapes, still lifes, and picture-portraits. Le Servante en bleu is a classic example of his interest in models from everyday working life, anonymous sitters depicted in confined and unusually ambiguous spaces, who nevertheless retain his or her character in Soutine's compositions.  

La Servante en bleu also demonstrates the changing elements of Soutine's portraiture in the early 1930s. "The figure paintings of the later years – from the early 1930s on – are marked by a structural solidity and a change in mood and speed of the image. The tempo is slowed down, giving way to a more meditative and quiet expression.... The uniformed figures of the nightclubs and hotels are replaced by uniformed domestic servants – maids, cleaning girls, house cooks....The faces and gestures are quieter and more withdrawn. Eyes are generally averted, looking askance, sometimes closed in sleep.  These people do not aggressively confront us as in earlier portraits; they do not meet our gaze" (Norman L. Kleeblatt, & Kenneth E. Silver, An Expressionist in Paris: the Paintings of Chaim Soutine, New York: 1998. p. 139, from the essay "The Late Works: Regression or Resolution" by Esti Dunow).

His bold and more aggressive portraiture of the 1920's as seen, for example, in Le Chasseur de Chez Maxim's of circa 1925 (see fig. 1), have become more muted and subtle in the present work: the quieter facial expression and gestures, the subject of the maid pictured with items from the market, the blue dress and white apron of the domestic servant's uniform, the hooded eyes, and the lack of confrontation from the figure. There is still tension in her tightly clenched left hand and raised right shoulder. While she is stationary, she seems ready to spring up again as soon as the painter is finished – to get on with her daily routine. While the subject has softened considerably, the picture retains an underlying tension and profound emotive quality.