THÉO VAN RYSSELBERGHE | Deux nus sous les pins or Sous les gros pins

Lucien Hauman, Brussels (acquired by 1926)
Blanche Hauman, Brussels (acquired from the above
Sale: Christie's, London, 25th June 1985, lot 137
Galerie Willy D'Huyser, Brussels
Buelens Collection
Sale: Campo & Campo, Antwerp, 29th April 1997, lot 321
Sale: Bonhams, London, 22nd October 2003, lot 24
Galerie Hurtebize, Cannes (purchased at the above sale)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Brussels, Galerie Georges Giroux, Exposition d'œuvres récentes de Théo Van Rysselberghe, 1926, no. 40 
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts & The Hague, Gemeentsmuseum, Théo van Rysselberghe, 2006, n.n.

Ronald Feltkamp, Théo van Rysselberghe, Catalogue raisonné, Paris & Brussels, 2003, no. 1925-008, illustrated in colour pp. 158 & 442

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The female nude is a theme which only begins to appear in van Rysselberghe’s work with any great frequency later in his career. As Patricia vander Elst-Alexandre notes, ‘Before 1905, Van Rysselberghe had painted few nudes. That year, he began seriously to come to terms with this new genre, which became one of his favourites. He painted nudes under pine trees, after bathing, lying down and relaxed, at their toilet in front of the mirror, doing their hair, washing in the bath’ (Théo van Rysselberghe (exhibition catalogue), The Hague, 2006, p. 69).  Turquoise seas just visible through the trunks of pines is a trope which recurs in van Russelbergh’s work but finds some of its most successful renditions in bather scenes such as the present lot or À l’ombre des pins (Agay) or Sous les pins (Agay) (sold in these rooms, 27^th February 2019, lot 147). The posture of the nudes in both paintings echo the contours of the tree trunks, lending semi-mythical or Symbolist overtones to these dryad-like figures.

Van Rysselberghe drew inspiration from the distinctive light of the Mediterranean and the glowing pink and blue tones and saturated colours of the present landscape dominate in his painting throughout this late period. The several receding spatial planes are a classic illustration of van Rysselberghe's ability to create an illusion of depth while simultaneously asserting the two-dimensional surface qualities of painting through flat units of brushstrokes.



We thank Olivier Bertrand for providing additional information on this painting which will be included in his Théo Van Rysselberghe Catalogue raisonné. This work is to be inluded in the forthcoming Van Rysselberghe Online Catalogue raisonnée being prepared by Ronald Feltkamp under the archive no. 1925.008.