Lot 333
  • 333

Gino Severini

Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 GBP
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Description

  • Gino Severini
  • Abstraction
  • signed G. Severini (upper centre)
  • oil on canvas
  • 73.5 by 60cm., 29 by 23 5/8 in.

Provenance

Léonce Rosenberg, Paris (acquired by April 1918)
Gino Nibbi, Melbourne (possibly acquired in 1937)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited

New York, Brooklyn Museum, International Exhibition of Modern Art, 1926, n.n.

Literature

Daniela Fonti, Gino Severini: Catalogo ragionato, Milan, 1988, no. 310, illustrated p. 271

Condition

The canvas is not lined. There is a layer of varnish preventing the UV light from fully penetrating, and UV examination reveals some small intermittent spots of retouching along the edges, associated with frame rubbing. There are two spots of retouching to the upper and centre of the right edge, a spot of retouching towards the lower part of the left edge, and some further fine horizontal lines of retouching towards the left part of the lower edge. There is a pin-sized spot of retouching beneath the lowest playing card and a spot directly below the white pigment towards the lower right corner. There is some hairline stable craquelure in places and some faint shrinkage, predominately to the burgundy pigment. The colours are fresh and this work is in overall good condition. Please refer to the updated image in the online catalogue.
"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."

Catalogue Note

'He was - and this was his originality, even, doubtless, his greatness - he was the bridge between Futurism and Cubism' (Bernard Dorival, quoted in in Futurism (exhibition catalogue), Tate Modern, London, 2009, p. 242). Severini’s pioneering geometric compositions formed part of the artist’s fervent creative research into the language of Cubism. It was in 1916, the year of Boccioni’s death, that Severini moved decisively from Futurism to Cubism and later entered the renowned Parisian collector, dealer, and publicist Léonce Rosenberg’s celebrated Galerie de l'Effort Moderne. The gallery opened in January 1918 on 19, rue de la Baume and showcased the most important artists of French Cubism, from Gris to Braque and from Metzinger to Picasso. Severini focussed his art on what he called the ‘universal movement’ through Cubism, in which he constructed and deconstructed physical space in a rational and geometrical practice. The artist assimilated the lessons of Cubism and imbued his compositions with a formal and analytical approach, trying to achieve a geometric order through the deconstruction of elements. In the present work, numerous trompe-l’œil are achieved through the use of motifs that have now become icons of cubist art: musical scores, instruments, cards and papier-collés. Abstraction is a significant example of Severini’s practice from 1918 and was exhibited in the important exhibition in New York’s Brooklyn Museum in 1926 during the International Exhibition of Modern Art.

This important work was formerly owned by the celebrated collector Gino Nibbi, born in Fermo, Italy, who moved to Melbourne in 1928 and was instrumental in bringing Modern art to Australia. It was the painter Osvaldo Licini who introduced Nibbi to the international avant-garde, and upon Nibbi’s arrival in Australia, this new cultural milieu prompted him to open the Leonardo Art Shop. Nibbi, a curious intellectual, travelled extensively, acquiring avant-garde art through his travels. It was in 1937 that he visited Berlin, Colonge and Paris. Desmond O’Grady recalls that he purchased paintings by Severini, Kisling and De Chirico and recounts the anecdote that ‘De Chirico wrote Nibbi a letter, to dupe customs officials, saying that he was making a gift but, in fact, the canvas cost 300 lire’ (Correggio Jones and the runaways, Australia, 1995, p. 81). The present work formed part of his celebrated collection and is a prime example of Severini's most iconic compositions.