- 197A
Léon Pourtau
Description
- Léon Pourtau
- Paysannes alimentant le feu
- Stamped L. Pourtau (lower right, on the reverse & on the stretcher)
- Oil on canvas
- 45 3/4 by 31 7/8 in.
- 116.2 by 81.1 cm
Provenance
Acquired in 1988
Literature
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.
Catalogue Note
A friend and admirer of Seurat's during his brief but remarkable life, Pourtau adopted and applied the principles of Pointillism in his own painting (see figs. 1 & 2). In his obituary an unnamed source is quoted: "So as to prove to me that he wasn't forgetting painting [while on his American tour] he sent me from Boston, two years ago, an exquisite visiting card, a tiny picture representing a riverside scene. Pourteau [sic] was a truly distinguished Pointillist. Without letting the procedure overwhelm him, he knew how to give his canvas intense light and vibration" (quoted in Phillip Dennis Cate, ed., Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne, Paris 1880-1910 (exhibition catalogue), Nevada Museum of Art, Reno; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado; Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach & Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, 2014-15, p. 41).