Raoul Dufy

Estate of the artist
Private Collection (by descent from the above)
Galerie Fanny Guillon-Laffaille, Paris
Acquired from the above in 2011

This painting has been fairly recently competently restored. The canvas is unlined, but the reverse has been treated with a non-wax adhesive to consolidate the paint layer and relax some of the creases and cracks that have developed. Four or five distinct lines of retouching can be seen under ultraviolet light, suggesting that the canvas was folded at some point, perhaps by the artist himself early in his career. In addition to these horizontal lines of fine retouching, there are some isolated restorations, particularly in the upper right. All of these are clearly visible under ultraviolet light. There are no signs of abrasion. The work could easily be hung as is, or a few of the retouches could be refined at some point. The above condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes, an independent conservator who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
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.

Calèche à Falaise was painted during a period of significant transition in Dufy’s career. Between 1904 and 1906 he traveled between a number of coastal towns near Le Havre, where he worked alongside Marquet, Braque and Othon Friesz; one of his favorite locations at this time was the town of Falaise. Completed in 1905, at the very start of Dufy's Fauve period, Calèche à Falaise uniquely manifests both the wild innovations of the Fauves and the more reserved manner of late nineteenth-century masters including Manet and Courbet.

As Jacques Lassaigne writes, “To the pure colors of nascent Fauvism he added an original strain, a spray of subtle shadings in pink, green, and blue that enabled him to overstep the real world, re-echoing it as he pleased. When at last they are in the air, new movements in painting lead to simultaneous experiment on all sides, and the tribute he paid to the revolutionary work of Matisse must not blind us to the advance Dufy had already made along these lines” (Jacques Lassaigne, Dufy, Biographical and Critical Studies (The Taste of our Time), Paris, 1954, p. 22). Indeed, Calèche à Falaise is rendered with radically loose brushwork, yet it features a softer, somber palette accompanied by great attention to light and shadow, lending the painting a sense of natural space and dimension.