Raoul Dufy

Mme Raoul Dufy, Paris
Wildenstein & Co., New York (acquired by 1962)
Gregory Peck, Beverley Hills (sale: Sotheby's, London, 3rd July 1974, lot 59)
Sale: Christie's, London, 29th November 1993, lot 25
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

New York, Wildenstein & Co., Raoul Dufy, 1962, no. 11

Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Geneva, 1977, vol. IV, no. 1584, illustrated p. 149

The canvas is lined. UV examination reveals an area of retouching to the lower left corner and some scattered spots and lines of retouching intermittently along the left edge. There are a few further very small spots of retouching in places to the upper right corner and the right part of the upper edge. 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."

As the 'Master of Colour' Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy’s œuvre and legacy are most impressively characterised by his exuberant palette. His later canvases are a joyful celebration of colour and pattern, indeed stemming back to the fateful moment at the Salon d’Automne of 1905 when he first saw Matisse’s Luxe, calme et volupté, prompting his famous proclamation: ‘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 John Elderfield, The “Wild Beasts”: Fauvism and Its Affinities, New York, 1976, p. 78). Known to his contemporaries as ‘the enchanter,’ Dufy found further inspiration in the way forms and colours were transformed by light, a theme which strongly resonated with many of his artistic forbearers. Dora Perez-Tibi noted that in his early years, ‘[Dufy] had become aware of the need to recreate observed reality in terms of his own ‘reality,’ and went on to elaborate his theory of ‘couleur-lumière’ with which he experimented, and which he would apply to his entire œuvre (Dora Perez-Tibi, Dufy, New York, 1989, pp. 23-24).

The present work depicts a circus scene, with the ringmaster firmly planted in its centre surrounded by horses and show-ponies parading around the ring. Dufy depicts all of this from above, providing an elevated view of the energetic performance. The increasing popularity of circus acts in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries led artists such as Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Georges Seurat, Marc Chagall and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to focus their attention at one point or another on the circus and its acrobats. Dufy emphasizes the excitement of the scene with planes of colour and jewel-like blue hues which dominate the canvas. So brilliant and energetic is this scene that it formed part of the celebrated actor Gregory Peck’s collection in Beverly Hills, California.