Paul Gauguin

Heymann Collection
Ambroise Vollard, Paris (acquired from the above prior to 1899 and sold after 1904)
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the above on 10th December 1927)
Galerie Thannhauser, Berlin (acquired from the above on 10th January 1928)
Dr A. Frey, Paris
Graphisches Kunstkabinett, Bremen (acquired from the above in Paris)
Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Düsseldorf (acquired from the above circa 1932)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1983

Georges Wildenstein, Paul Gauguin, Paris, 1964, vol. I, no. 163, illustrated p. 61
Daniel Wildenstein, Paul Gauguin, Premier itinéraire d'un sauvage. Catalogue de l'œuvre peint (1873-1888), Paris, 2001, vol. I, no. 188, illustrated p. 225

The canvas is not lined. There is a 2cm. thin line of fluorescence visible under UV light, perhaps due to a slight scratch in the surface towards the upper centre. Apart from a pinhead-sized speck of paint loss to the centre of the upper edge and a minor scratch to the centre of the left edge, this work is in 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."

COMP: 430D07008_COMP
Fig. 1, Camille Pissaro, Les Toits rouges, côte Saint-Denis à Pontoise, effect d'hiver, 1977, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris 

The Etable pres de Dieppe was painted in the summer of 1885 close to Dieppe, where Gauguin and his family spent the summer. The influence of Pissarro, at this time the younger artist's tutor and mentor, is clearly apparent in this work, and the fractured brushwork owes something to Pissarro's Les Toits rouges, côte Saint-Denis à Pontoise, effect d'hiver (fig. 1), which had been in the Impressionist exhibition of 1877, and was also owned by Caillebotte, and therefore was easily accessible to Gauguin.

However, the work also illustrates the growing confidence and individuality evident in the Gauguin's art around this time. His move to Rouen in 1884 removed Gauguin from the shadow of Pissarro, and had forced him to stand on his own feet artistically. The retreat from Paris was also significant for the artist symbolicially, because it was a sign of his decision to abandon the financial securities of his Parisian life to the more precarious existence as an artist. This provoked a period of acute financial and existential crisis, but by the summer of 1885, Gauguin was beginning to master the materials and problems of his art. Indeed it was in 1885 that he made his first contribution to art philosophy, the Synthetic Notes, a sign of his growing artistic maturity.