Raoul Dufy

The Honorable and Mrs. John Whitney, New York
Wildenstein and Co. Ltd., New York

London, Wildenstein Galleries, Raoul Dufy 1877-1953, 1975

Raymond Cogniat, Dufy, Collection des Maîtres, Paris, 1950, no. 2, illustrated n.p. (titled as Neige au Havre)
Jean Paul Crespelle, Les Fauves, Lausanne, 1962, illustrated in colour p. 42
Maurice Lafaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Geneva, 1972, vol. I, no. 124, illustrated p. 114

The canvas is lined. UV examination reveals some thin vertical lines of retouching to the sky, and some further scattered lines and spots in places, the most prominent of which is to the right hand sail. There are some very fine lines of stable craquelure in places, most prominently to the white pigment. 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."

Painted in 1906, Les barques is a product of Raoul Dufy’s most important and ground-breaking period when the artist was working in a pioneering Fauvist idiom.  It was the impact of the 1905 Salon des Indépendents, when Dufy saw Henri Matisse's Luxe, calme et volupté, that resulted in his own art being imbued with a new energy and vibrancy that helped form his trademark aesthetic. Dufy recalled the significance of this experience in terms of his subsequent artistic development: ‘At the sight of this picture I understood all the new reasons for painting, and Impressionist realism lost its charm for me as I contemplated the miracle of the imagination introduced into design and colour. I immediately understood the new pictorial mechanics’ (quoted in, Sarah Whitfield, Fauvism, London, 1996, p. 58).

The scene of busy port, depicted here with such vibrancy is a familiar one but the disorientating elevated viewpoint and various compositional framing devices give the work a distinctly modern aesthetic. The upward thrust of the jetty pylons, masts and the blown out sails, lend the work an undeniably dynamic and energised sensibility, which is only heightened by the zesty turquoises and pinks that dominate the canvas. Whitfield argues that it was during this period that Dufy realised the artistic potential of atypical compositions: ‘His recognition of the potential dynamism of the spaces between objects came, so he said, from his understanding that in Cézanne’s still lifes, the spaces between the apples were as beautiful and important as the apples themselves’ (ibid., p. 131). This theory is effectively embodied within the present work, in which an astonishing sensation of movement and energy is conveyed by expanse of water between the two sailboats. Les barques, with its bold palette and dizzying composition, is an extraordinary tribute to the excitement and energy Dufy felt during this period.