Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection, London
LÉON TUTUNDJIAN
Armenian, 1905 - 1968
LA GRENADE ÉCLATÉE
signed TUTUNDJIAN lower right
oil on canvas
92 by 60cm., 36 by 23½in.
framed: 94.5 by 62cm., 37 by 24½in.
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Condition Report
The canvas has not been lined.
Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some small scattered spots of cosmetic retouching, notably in the background, and two areas addressing repairs:
- a circa 3 by 3cm area in the pomegranate's skin, also patched on the reverse; and
- a circa 10cm horizontal stroke running across the green branch nearer the centre of the composition.
Overall, this work presents well and is in good condition.
Presented in a simple and narrow gilt frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.
Saleroom Notice
Cataloguing
Provenance
Sale: Sotheby's London, 26 October 1994, lot 324
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Paris, Musée Palais Galliéra, 100 peintres et le Pétrole, 1959
Literature
Gladys C. Fabre, Tutundjian, Paris, 1994, no. 130, illustrated with a black and white photograph from the Tutundjian photographic archive
Catalogue Note
The present work dates from Tutundjian's Surrealist period, when, inspired by the works of René Magritte and Salvador Dalí, the artist developed his own visual metaphors often imbued with subtle Indian and Persian influences. Although never becoming a formal member of the Surrealist group, he was closely associated with André Breton and exhibited with the Surrealists throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1923 Tutundjian emigrated to Paris where he befriended his fellow Armenian painter Ervand Kochar, who introduced him to Miró, Picasso, Mondrian and Jacques Villon. In 1930 he co-founded the Art Concret movement which espoused a non-figurative style.