RIK WOUTERS | Le Kattenberg

Nel Wouters (widow of the artist)
Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels
Sale: 4 mai 1931, lot 143
Jean Vanderlinden, Brasschaat
Philippe Vanderlinden, Brasschaat
Thence by descent to the present owner

Brussels, Galerie Georges Giroux, Rik Wouters, 1922, no. 49,
Rome, Seconda biennale romana, mostra internazionale di belle arti, 1923, no. 2, untitled Kattenberg (paesaggio)
Dresde, Internationale Kunsausstellung, 1926
Budapest, Exposition belge d'art ancien et moderne, 1927, no. 113, untitled Le Kattenberg, Boitsfort
Stockholm, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Art belge ancien et moderne, 1927, no. 116, untitled Kattenberg , Boitsfort
Amsterdam, E.J. Van Wisselingh & Co, Cent ans d'art belge, 1931, no. 59, untitled Paysage Kattenberg
Amsterdam, E.J. Van Wisselingh & Co, Walter Vaes – Rik Wouters, 1932, no. 24, untitled Landschap Kattenberg
Stockholm, Liljevachs Konsthall, Belgisk konst, 1934, no. 244
Malmö, Belgisk konst, 1934, no. 244,
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, Belgisk kunst, 1934, no. 244
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rik Wouters, 1935, no. 94, untitled Le Kattenberg à Boitsfort
Antwerp, Galerie Breckpot, Rik Wouters, 1944
Mechelen, Stedelijk Feestzaal, Rik Wouters, 1946, no. 51, untitled Le Kattenberg à Boitsfort
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans, Rik Wouters, 1946, no. 51, untitled De Kattenberg Te Boschvoorde
Den Haag, Gemeente Museum, Rik Wouters, 1946, no. 51, untitled De Kattenberg Te Boschvoorde
Charleroi, Salle de la Bourse, Cercle Artistique et Littéraire, XXIème salon, Rik Wouters, 1947, no. 33
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Rik Wouters, 1947, no. 30, untitled De Kattenberg
Tilburg, Paleis – Raadhuis, Rik Wouters, 1953, no. 16, untitled De Kattenberg Te Boschvoorde
Brussels, Galerie Breughel, Rik Wouters, 1954, no. 12
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Rik Wouters, 1957, no. 88, untitled De Kattenberg Te Bosvoorde
Brussels, Cercle Royal Gaulois, Artistique et Littéraire, Bruxelles vu par les artistes, 1959, no. 109, untitled Le Kattenberg à Boitsfort
Mechelen, Cultureel Centrum, Rik Wouters, 1966, no. 89
Brussels, Kredietbank, Salle d'Exposition De Tinne Pot, Le Brabant au fil des saisons, 1976, no. 42
Amersfoort, De Zonnehof, Rik Wouters, 1988–89, no. 19
Ostende, Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Rik Wouters, 1994, no. 49 – II, illustrated in the catalogue p. 105
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rik Wouters, des origines à l'œuvre, 2002, no. 144, illustrated in the catalogue

Luc Haesaerts & Paul Haesaerts, Flandre, essai sur l'art flamand depuis 1880, Paris, 1931, detail illustrated p. 614
Nel Wouters, 'La vie douloureuse et ensoleillée de Rik' in Les Beaux-Arts, no. 180, November 22, 1935, p. 14
J.F. Elslander, Figures et souvenirs d'une belle époque, Brussels, 1944, pp. 52 & 61
Nel Wouters, La vie de Rik Wouters à travers son œuvre, Brussels, 1944, p. 83, illustrated pl. LXIX
Roger Avermaete, Rik Wouters, Brussels, 1962, illustrated p. 83
R. Tack, 'La vie exaltante et douloureuse d'un grand artiste, Rik Wouters' in Le Soir, February 7, 1963, illustrated
Olivier Bertrand & S. Hautekeete, Jalons d'une vie, Antwerp, 1994, pp. 115 & 193, illustrated p. 114
Olivier Bertrand, Rik Wouters, Les peintures, Antwerp, 1995, no. 169, illustrated p. 199
Stefaan Hautekeete, Rik Wouters, 1882-1916 : développement et portée de son œuvre peint, Antwerp, 1997, illustrated pl. 75

The canvas is not lined and is slightly undulating. Examination under UV light reveals a small spot of retouching to the upper right quadrant and a few further tiny dots of retouching in the sky, notably towards the centre of the composition and to the upper left quadrant. There is a thin line of rubbing (approx. 4 cm long) and some dots of pigment loss to the right part of the lower edge. Colours are fresh and vivid. This work is in overall very 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."

At the beginning of Spring 1914 Wouters and his wife Nel moved to their new house on Place de la Citadelle which dominated the working-class neighbourhood of the Coin du balai. The couple had been living in Boitsfort for seven years, a town situated between Brussels and the Soignes forest. Passionate about nature, the artist found in this preserved environment the inspiration for over 150 paintings (within a total production of 224, counting destroyed or unfound works) including his major works. Wouters enjoyed recognition at the beginning of this year after the success of his solo show at the Galerie Georges Giroux and the Salon de l’Art Contemporain in Antwerp which showed his works alongside those by Ensor and Van Gogh. Two giants of painting that the young 31 year old Brabant had admired from an early age. Ensor, whose bust Wouters had made a year earlier, also held Wouters in high esteem: "And one must give the Contemporary  Art Fair a good whack this time because there is Van Gogh and Wouters".

These two exhibitions brought Wouters recognition and the critics praised his " innovative and strong youth", "marvellously productive  work … an artist who possesses such fresh and audacious originality". In Brussels, Wouters showed 16 sculptures, 45 paintings and 76 works on paper and sales were numerous.

This success and acknowledgment encouraged him to continue his research towards a synthetization of form and colour and Le Kattenberg, a large painting in harmonious greens is the perfect and complete expression of this. The elements structuring the landscape are composed of volumes whereas depth and perspective are marked by colour tones. The Kattenberg was part of the landscape that Wouters admired from his studio and it can be found in the background of emblematic works such as Le Flûtiste, Paysage à Boitsfort B (fenêtre ouverte) or La fenêtre ouverte (les maçons). The present painting offers an opposite view, turned to the Coin du balai district and the artist’s studio. The Kattenberg is also shown on a rare photograph (a postcard) of the artist painting from nature, in full creative swing.

It was his Alsatian painter friend Simon Lévy, met a few years earlier, who introduced him to the art of Cézanne. The correspondence between the two artists reveals their limitless admiration for the father of modern art and Wouters never shied away from this common thread in the advent of his own artistic language, all the more indebted to his training as a sculptor and years of practicing watercolour.

Wouters painted his canvases as he moulded clay and placed his colours like watercolour on paper. Cézanne’s work was the result of a long maturation, whereas Wouters, in the year of 1914, fed on spontaneity and a sense of urgency…. Between the first signs of cancer which eventually killed him in July 1916 and his financial troubles (the monthly payments arranged with his dealer were not paid), Wouters moved from one canvas to another, inspired by the play of light from the open windows of his studio and by surrounding nature, awakened by the coming of Spring.

Enlisted in August 1914, Wouters left forever the environment that had proved to be his revelation, abandoning most of his works in his studio and the storage of his dealer Giroux. The latter had nevertheless enabled him to create great works to be kept by generations of private collectors.

Olivier Bertrand