- 187
MOÏSE KISLING | Nu allongé sur tapis fleuri
Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Moïse Kisling
- Nu allongé sur tapis fleuri
- Signed Kisling and dated Paris 1935 (upper right)
- Oil on canvas
- 27 1/4 by 39 1/2 in.
- 69.2 by 100 cm
- Painted in Paris in 1935.
Provenance
Dr. Bergeret, Paris
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above in 1974 and sold: Sotheby's, London, February 6, 2008, lot 522)
Acquired at the above sale
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above in 1974 and sold: Sotheby's, London, February 6, 2008, lot 522)
Acquired at the above sale
Literature
Jean Kisling, Kisling 1891-1953, vol. I, Turin, 1971, no. 63, illustrated p. 335
Condition
The canvas is not lined. There are fine lines of craquelure throughout the canvas. There is minor frame abrasion to all four edges. Under UV light: An uneven layer of varnish is difficult to read through. A few possible pindot strokes of inpainting along the bottom edge. This work is in 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Kisling's incredibly sensual nudes reflect the painter's love of the female form. In 1937, Louis Chéronnet wrote of the artist's exhibition at the Gertrude Stein Gallery: "Kisling is a sensual materialist with a taste for the sumptuous who focuses carefully on technique... What voluptuous lines and colors! All of Kisling's forms are characteristically elongated and graceful as a dancer in an arabesque. And over a seemingly inalterably prepared canvas colors spread, raw, shimmering, and unctuous" (quoted in Jean Kisling, op. cit., p. 43).
Kisling asserted that no artist past or present influenced his artistic style, but one cannot deny the similarities of the present work to the celebrated nudes painted by his close friend, Amedeo Modigliani (see fig. 1). Kisling met Modigliani shortly after moving to Paris from Poland in 1910, quickly becoming a key figure in the École de Paris and dubbed the “Prince of Montparnasse” by his cohorts.
The delicate shading and intense gaze of the sitter reflect the sensitivity to form, feeling and pictorial essence that only Kisling could achieve. Her almond-shaped eyes—a trademark of Kisling’s portraiture as well as Modigliani's—and the energy of color reflect the enthusiasm that these subjects inspired in him. As the artist once stated, “A beautiful girl in the nude fills me with joy, the desire to love, to be happy, and I would make the piece of cloth, the backdrop on which she poses, an expression of my delight” (quoted in ibid., p. 37).
Fig. 1 Amedeo Modigliani, Nu couché, circa 1920, oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
To be included in the Volume IV et Additifs aux Tomes I, II, et III of the Catalogue Raisonné de l’Oeuvre de Moïse Kisling currently being prepared by Jean Kisling and Marc Ottavi.
Kisling asserted that no artist past or present influenced his artistic style, but one cannot deny the similarities of the present work to the celebrated nudes painted by his close friend, Amedeo Modigliani (see fig. 1). Kisling met Modigliani shortly after moving to Paris from Poland in 1910, quickly becoming a key figure in the École de Paris and dubbed the “Prince of Montparnasse” by his cohorts.
The delicate shading and intense gaze of the sitter reflect the sensitivity to form, feeling and pictorial essence that only Kisling could achieve. Her almond-shaped eyes—a trademark of Kisling’s portraiture as well as Modigliani's—and the energy of color reflect the enthusiasm that these subjects inspired in him. As the artist once stated, “A beautiful girl in the nude fills me with joy, the desire to love, to be happy, and I would make the piece of cloth, the backdrop on which she poses, an expression of my delight” (quoted in ibid., p. 37).
Fig. 1 Amedeo Modigliani, Nu couché, circa 1920, oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
To be included in the Volume IV et Additifs aux Tomes I, II, et III of the Catalogue Raisonné de l’Oeuvre de Moïse Kisling currently being prepared by Jean Kisling and Marc Ottavi.