ANDRÉ LHOTE | Gypsy's Bar

P. Stoebel, France
Sale: Christie's, South Kensington, 29th November 1993, lot 55
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, attached to the mount along all four edges and floating in the mount. This sheet is gently time-stained. 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."

Emblematic of André Lhote’s unique Cubist technique, Gypsy's Bar depicts a spontaneous vision of musicians and dancers in an atmospheric bar. His unabashed use of vivacious colours and bold play of lines provide a sense of innovation to the formality of the Cubist pictorial construct. A work bursting with energy, Lhote’s artwork stands out for his stylised yet clearly delineated representations of people in motion. Reminiscing, Lhote said: ‘It is fascinating to capture a moving spectacle by freezing it at its crucial phase, at that moment when, like a pendulum at the end of its trajectory, everything seems to become motionless for a second before starting up again in rapid flashes’ (quoted in Anatole Jakovsky, André Lhote, 48 reproductions commentées par le peintre, Paris, 1947, pp. 251-67). The figure in the foreground over whose shoulder we, the spectators, view the scene is evocative of André Lhote's painting Hommage à Watteau, painted in 1918 a study for which is in the permanent collection of TATE Britain.



This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné being prepared by Dominique Bermann Martin.