MAXIMILIEN LUCE | Montmartre, de la rue Cortot, vue vers Saint-Denis

Galerie Huinck en Scherjon, Amsterdam
Galerie René Drouet, Paris
Private Collection, Beverly Hills (acquired from the above in 1968)
Private Collection, New York (by descent from the above; sale: Sotheby's, New York, 5th November 2009, lot 110)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Amsterdam, Galerie Huinck en Scherjon, Tentoonstelling van schilderijen door Luce, Radda, Tobeen, 1932, no. 3 (titled Panorama de Paris)
Amsterdam, Galerie Huinck en Scherjob, Nederlandsche en Fransche Kunst, 1935, no. 20 (titled Panorama de Paris)
Amsterdam, Galerie Huinck en Scherjob, Fransche Kunst (19^e eeuw), 1936, no. 23 (titled Panorama de Paris)
Amsterdam, Galerie Huinck en Scherjob, Nederlandsche en Fransche Kunst, 1938, no. 43

Philippe Cazeau, Maximilien Luce, Paris, 1982, n.n., illustrated p. 40
Jean Bouin-Luce & Denise Bazetoux, Maximilien Luce, Catalogue de l'œuvre peint, Paris, 1986, vol. II, no. 163, illustrated p. 47

Please note that there is a professional condition report for this work, please contact mariella.salazar@sothebys.com to request a copy.
"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 1887, Camille Pissarro introduced Maximilien Luce to the Neo-Impressionist painters Georges Seurat, Paul Siganc and Henri Edmond Cross, which had a tremendous impact on Luce’s painting. An early practitioner of ‘pointillism’, of which pure pigments are placed directly on the canvas with short brushstrokes, Luce was less bound by the theoretical dictum of optical fusion than other members of his circle, favouring a more instinctive approach, demonstrated by the present landscape of Montmartre, de la Rue Corot, Vue vers Saint Denis. Luce, along with Camille Pissarro, broke away from the stark, unoccupied compositions of his peers, preferring to depict the dynamics of urban life instead. Luce moved to Montmartre in 1887 where he began to exhibit annually with the Neo-Impressionsts at the Salon des Artistes Independents, and in 1889 and 1892, by invitation, at the Salon des Vingt in Brussels. Luce relished the sweeping views from the rooftops and chimneys of Montmartre, where he could capture the light as it bounced off the canopies of the trees and the red tiled roofs of the sprawling buildings. The present work includes a beautiful house on the right, in which the viewer appreciates the panoramic vision the owner would have experienced. The house was lived by Suzanne Valadon, the first woman painter to be admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts; she was also the mother of artist Maurice Utrillo.