Lot 5
  • 5

GEORGES MATHIEU | Mariage de Marie de Blois

Estimate
450,000 - 650,000 EUR
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Description

  • Mathieu
  • Mariage de Marie de Blois
  • signed and dated 60; titled and dated on the stretcher
  • oil on canvas
  • 180,3 x 297,1 cm ; 71 x 117 in.
  • Executed in 1960.

Provenance

Kootz Gallery, New York
Mr and Mrs Patrick B. McGinnis, Boston
Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, Abstract expressionist and other Modern Paintings, including the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis, 13 May 1964, lot 97
Private collection
Christie's, New York, 12 May 2010, Post-War and Contemporary Art Morning Session Including Works from the Collection of Michael Crichton, lot 256
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

New York, Kootz Gallery, Mathieu: New paintings at the Kootz Gallery, April - May 1960, no. 16
Lincoln, DeCordova Museum, Paintings, Sculpture & Drawings from the Collection of Mr and Mrs Patrick B. McGinnis, October - December 1960 ; catalogue, no. 29, illustrated

Literature

Catalogue d'exposition, Palais des Papes, Mathieu, 1986, p. 123, illustrated

Condition

The work is executed on its original canvas and is not relined. Wear marks are visible upon close inspection at each of the four corners. Stretcher marks are visible upon close inspection. Two small black traces are visible in the upper left corner and in the center along the upper edge. Some thicker impastos present stable cracks, tiny losses at the extremities and stable uplifts. A tiny loss is located in the lower right quadrant and visible upon very close inspection. Under Ultra Violet light, the layers underneath the white surface fluoresce, certainly inherent to the artist's process. In the lower left quadrant, additional traces fluoresce. This work is in good condition. Please refer to the Contemporary Department for additional images.
"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

Vibrant tribute to the lyrical abstraction that Georges Mathieu fervently theorized, Mariage de Marie de Blois is part of the "Pompes et Supplices" (splendor and torment) cycle of works from 1960. Reference to the splendor of bygone days, in this avant-garde series that exalts creative gesture, the "pompes" stand against the "supplices" and other martyrs in the artist's work, in the spirit of El Greco, Rembrandt, Goya and Picasso, for whom joy, sorrow and moral or physical pain were the three main levers of human sensitivity.
The subject matter and grand dimensions of Mariage de Marie de Blois resolutely places Georges Mathieu on an equal footing with great artists from the past, as well as with his contemporaries, since his performative creative process is grounded in the international action painting movement.
Exhibited by the mythical American gallerist Samuel Kootz in April 1960 during a solo show entitled Mathieu: New paintings at the Kootz Gallery, Mariage de Marie de Blois was immediately acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Patrick B. McGinnis. Spanning Western modern art from Delvaux, Rodin, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Braque and Beckmann to Rothko, Pollock, Kline, Kusama and Soulages, their famous Boston-based collection has been exhibited in the most prestigious American museums from the 60s on.

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Georges Mathieu Committee.
We kindly thank Jean-Marie Cusinberche for the additional information he generously provided about this work.