- 45
JOAQUÍN SUNYER | Mountains near Sitges
Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Joaquín Sunyer
- Mountains near Sitges
- signed Sunyer lower left
- oil on canvas
- 95.5 by 121.5cm., 37½ by 48in.
Provenance
Private collection, Barcelona (sale: Sotheby's, London, 18 November 2003, lot 211)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
Rafael Benet, Sunyer, Barcelona 1975, p. 229, no. 385, catalogued; p. 200, illustrated
Condition
The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. A faint stretcher mark corresponding to the vertical stretcher member is hardly visible. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some small spots of retouching in the upper left corner possibly addressing old flaking, and a circa 7cm vertical stroke closer to the right edge, just beneath the house, addressing an old tear also visible on the reverse. Otherwise, this work in overall in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a dark, wooden frame.
"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."
"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
Painted in 1915. Sunyer was a student at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona together with Nonell, Mir, Canals and Torres García. He travelled to Paris in 1896, where he found work as an illustrator and befriended Picasso and other young avant-garde artists of the day. Leading artists who informed his style at the time included Toulouse-Lautrec, Daumier, Cézanne and Gauguin. Sunyer was especially influenced by Degas and Bonnard, artists who inspired him to execute a series of works of cabaret and Parisian street scenes.
By 1910 when he moved back to his native Sitges, his work had evolved into a lyrical Mediterranean classicism. Redolent of the work of Aristide Maillol whom he had known in Paris, this new departure in his work identified him as the most recognisable painter of Noucentism, the style that dominated Catalan art of this period. In 1912 Sunyer went to Céret in Provence to join Picasso, Braque, Gris, Max Jacob and Maillol. The fusion of new ideas stimulated by Cubism brought about stylistic changes in Sunyer's work, and from his colourful street and country scenes his compositions became more structural and monumental in style. During a trip to Italy in 1913, Sunyer was struck by the frescoes of Luca Signorelli in the Cathedral at Orvieto. These were to influence the artist's work by adding pure and volumetric forms in his paintings of nudes and landscapes, as in the present work.
By 1910 when he moved back to his native Sitges, his work had evolved into a lyrical Mediterranean classicism. Redolent of the work of Aristide Maillol whom he had known in Paris, this new departure in his work identified him as the most recognisable painter of Noucentism, the style that dominated Catalan art of this period. In 1912 Sunyer went to Céret in Provence to join Picasso, Braque, Gris, Max Jacob and Maillol. The fusion of new ideas stimulated by Cubism brought about stylistic changes in Sunyer's work, and from his colourful street and country scenes his compositions became more structural and monumental in style. During a trip to Italy in 1913, Sunyer was struck by the frescoes of Luca Signorelli in the Cathedral at Orvieto. These were to influence the artist's work by adding pure and volumetric forms in his paintings of nudes and landscapes, as in the present work.