Raoul Dufy

Dr. Sigmund Pollag, Zurich
Sale: Sotheby's, London, December 2, 1986, lot 96
Sale: Christie's, London, November 28, 1988, lot 25
Gallery Sakai, Tokyo
Acquired from the above in 2001

Geneva, Musée d'art et d'histoire, Raoul Dufy, 1952, no. 2
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Dufy, 1957, no. 6
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Les Fauves, 1962, no. 50
Paris, Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, Raoul Dufy, Le Plaisir, 2008-09, no. 11, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Maurice Lafaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint de 1895 à 1915, vol. I, Geneva, 1972, no. 134, illustrated p. 123

The canvas is lined. There is a layer of varnish preventing the UV light from fully penetrating, however, UV examination does reveal a few fine lines and spots of scattered old retouching in places to the centre of the lower edge, a few fine lines to the green cloud at the upper centre, and to the blue cloud at the right. A few lines of retouching to the extreme upper right corner. 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.
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.

Dufy believed that the decisive turning point in his career occurred at the Salon d’Automne of 1905, where he saw Matisse’s revolutionary painting, Luxe, calme et volupté. At that point, claimed Dufy: “I understood the new raison d’être of painting and impressionist realism lost its charm for me as I beheld this miracle of the creative imagination at play, in color and drawing” (quoted in Jacques Lassaigne, Dufy, New York, n.d., p. 22). Dufy began incorporating the bright hues favored by the Fauves, but individualized the palette by using softer shades of pink, light blue, lavender and yellow.

The year 1906 heralded Dufy’s widespread recognition as an artist and marked the advent of his Fauve years. La Plage de Sainte-Adresse is a quintessential example of Dufy’s personalization of the Fauvist style and was painted during this seminal year for the artist. He exhibited in both the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne and opened his first one-man show at the gallery of Berthe Weill in Paris. He traveled to Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse with Albert Marquet, and each artist explored in their respective ways the expressive potential of color and form. This highly productive trip confirmed Dufy’s place amongst the Fauves as well as the artistic significance of Sainte-Adresse within his oeuvre.

The artist reflected on his paintings in this period by stating: “I was painting on the beach of Sainte-Adresse. I had previously painted beaches in the manner of the Impressionists, and had reached saturation point, realizing that this method of copying nature was leading me off into infinity, with its twists and turns and its most subtle and fleeting details. I myself was standing outside the picture. 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 is, 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).