Raoul Dufy

Sale: Christie's, New York, 3rd May 2006, lot 402
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Basel, Kunsthalle, Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Roualt, 1938, no. 88
Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Raoul Dufy, 1952, no 37 (titled Normandie and as dating from 1930)
Basel, Kunsthalle, Raoul Dufy, 1954, no. 58

Marcelle Berr de Turique, Raoul Dufy, Paris 1930, no. 281, illustrated p. 83
Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Geneva, 1976, vol. II, no. 795, illustrated p. 304

The canvas is lined. UV examination reveals a few small spots of retouching to the upper left corner, a tiny fleck to the sea, and two tiny spots to the extreme right edge. There are some very slight instances of paint shrinkage to the lower left quadrant and only really visible under UV light. Otherwise, this work is in overall 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."

Dufy, like many other artists of his generation, was confronted with the fundamental problem of how to reconcile the illusion of representation and the reality of it perceived by the artist himself. For Dufy, the answer lay in the use of colour and light. Details were replaced by a more general impression and colours flooded the canvas being freed from the constraints of imitation and representation. As the artist describes: 'Having arrived at some beach subject or other I would sit down and start looking at my tubes of paint and my brushes. How, using these things, could I succeed in conveying not what I see, but that which exists for me, my reality? [...] From that day onwards, I was unable to return to my barren struggles with the elements that were visible to my gaze. It was no longer possible to show them in their external form' (quoted in Dora Perez-Tibi, Dufy, London, 1989, pp. 22-23).

The subject of the present work is the lovely fishing village of Villerville, located not far from Deauville on the Normandy coast. The sweeping view of the luscious green hillside provides a lovely contrast to the blue sky and sea only punctuated by the bright red house in the centre of the composition. During the summer months spent in the region, Dufy drew great inspiration from the light and colour of the area; the vibrant palette of Villerville is, in fact, very reminiscent of his paintings of the South of France and a fantastic example of his work from this period.