Property from a Private French Collection | Provenant d'une collection particulière française
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Le bassin de Deauville
Le bassin de Deauville
Estimate:
140,000 - 160,000 EUR
Lot sold:
163,800
EUR
Property from a Private French Collection
Raoul Dufy
1877 - 1953
Le bassin de Deauville
signed Raoul Dufy (lower left)
oil on canvas
46,5 x 55,4 cm; 18¼ x 21⅞ in.
Painted circa 1929.
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Provenant d'une collection particulière française
Raoul Dufy
1877 - 1953
Le bassin de Deauville
signé Raoul Dufy (en bas à gauche)
huile sur toile
46,5 x 55,4 cm; 18¼ x 21⅞ in.
Peint vers 1929.
It has not been possible to examine the work entirely unframed. The canvas is not lined. There is an uneven varnish. Examination under UV light reveals no evidence of retouching. There are lines of craquelure throughout the composition which have been stabilized and do not fluoresce under UV light. There is a dot of paint loss (approx. 4mm wide) to one of the flags in the upper left quadrant (located 14.5cm from the upper edge and 24.5cm from the left edge). There is a scratch (approx. 1cm long) located 14cm from the lower edge and 6.5cm from the left edge. There is frame rubbing along the extreme edges. This work is in overall good condition.
Please note: Condition XVI of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot. (Veuillez noter que l’Article XVI des Conditions Générales de Vente applicables aux Acheteurs (Ventes Effectuées Exclusivement en Ligne) n’est pas applicable pour ce lot.)
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. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color 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. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
Private collection, France
Thence by descent to the present owner
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Collection particulière, France
Puis par descendance au propriétaire actuel
Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Geneva, 1973, vol. II, no. 812, illustrated p. 318
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Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Genève, 1973, vol. II, no. 812, reproduit p. 318
Le bassin de Deauville is an oil painting on canvas by Raoul Dufy from around 1929 that revisits one of the artist’s favourite subjects, namely the sea, ports and boats, and fits perfectly within his body of work.
However, what is specific and unique about this painting is the fact that here the artist has inverted his usual perspective. In this port scene he, in effect, gives the principle role to the sailing boat in the foreground and it is beyond the imposing mast, which divides the painting into two symmetrical halves, that the port of Deauville-Trouville emerges in the background.
The multicoloured flags of the boat’s sails, also in the foreground, separate the two halves of the painting into two symmetrical diagonals, starting from the top of the mast, giving this never-before-seen composition a contemporary feel.
In this artwork, Raoul Dufy conveys both his visionary eye as a painter, but also his immense talent as a designer and illustrator with the light, but perfectly mastered strokes, depicting in the foreground, the port, the houses, the church, the people on the boat, the clouds and the smoke coming from the liners.
These two ships on each side of the painting, separated by the line of the red-brown mast, complete this perfect symmetry.
The composition and structure make it an extremely modern painting, one where we find all the richness of Raoul Dufy’s palette. While it is always spectacular, it is enhanced in his oil paintings on canvas and Le bassin de Deauville is a perfect example of this.
The deep blues, pale greens, subtle pinks and mauves blend and mix with the flags’ vivid strokes - reds, greens, blues, blacks and whites - which are all signs that the collector looks out for.
The dense and rich pictorial layer enhances the optical illusion created by the different levels of the painting’s unique and perfectly balanced composition, and adds a three-dimensional feel.
Le bassin de Deauville is certainly an extraordinarily rare piece of art, even for this artist who knows how to convey, often in just a few strokes and touches of colour, all the atmosphere and liveliness of a place.
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Le bassin de Deauville, huile sur toile de Raoul Dufy, vers 1929, reprend l’un des thèmes favoris de l’artiste, à savoir la mer, les ports et les bateaux, et s’inscrit parfaitement dans l’historique de son œuvre. Toutefois, la spécificité et la rareté de cette toile résident dans le fait que l’artiste inverse ici sa perspective habituelle. Dans cette scène de port, il donne en effet le rôle principal au voilier au premier plan, et c’est au-delà du mât imposant de ce dernier, qui délimite la toile en deux parties symétriques, que le port de Deauville - Trouville se dessine au loin, en arrière-plan. Les drapeaux multicolores du voilier, également au premier plan, séparent chacune des deux parties de la toile en deux diagonales également symétriques, partant du haut du mât, donnant ainsi à cette composition inédite une très grande modernité.
Dans cette œuvre, Raoul Dufy transmet à la fois son œil visionnaire de peintre, mais également tout son talent de dessinateur et d’illustrateur à travers les traits légers mais parfaitement maîtrisés, représentant en arrière-plan le port, les maisons, l’église, le personnage sur le bateau, les nuages et la fumée sortant des paquebots. Ces deux paquebots, de chaque côté de la toile, et séparés par la ligne du mât rouge brun, complètent cette parfaite symétrie.
Dans ce tableau extrêmement moderne par sa composition et sa structure, l’on retrouve toute la richesse de la palette de Raoul Dufy. Cette dernière, toujours spectaculaire, l’est encore davantage dans ses huiles sur toile, et Le bassin de Deauville en est le parfait exemple.
Les bleus soutenus, les verts pales, les roses et mauves subtils, côtoient et se mêlent aux touches vives - rouges, vertes, bleues, noires, blanches - des drapeaux, qui sont autant d’avertissements pour l’œil du collectionneur.
La couche picturale, dense et riche, augmente l’effet d’optique rendu par les différents plans de la composition très originale et parfaitement équilibrée du tableau et y ajoute une sensation tri-dimensionnelle.
Le bassin de Deauville est définitivement une œuvre d’une très grande rareté et originalité, même pour cet artiste qui savait transmettre en parfois seulement quelques traits et touches de couleur toute l’atmosphère et l’animation d’un lieu.