- 477
Georges Braque
Description
- Georges Braque
- FRUITS ET FOURCHETTE
- signed G. Braque and dated 29 (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 24 by 40.5cm, 9 1/2 by 16in.
Provenance
Literature
George Isarlov, Catalogue des œuvres de Georges Braque, Paris, 1932, no. 502
Galerie Maeght (ed.), Catalogue de l'œuvre de Georges Braque, Peintures 1928-1935, Paris, 1962, illustrated p. 30
Pierre Descargues & Massimo Carrà, Tout l'œuvre peint de Braque, 1908-1929, Paris, 1973, no. 411, illustrated p. 103
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."
Catalogue Note
COMP: 437D07008_COMP
Braque in his studio,1944-54.
Throughout the 1920s Braque continued to experiment with the pictoral language of Cubism, focusing primarily on the still life. The works of this period are characterised by a more restrained approach to Cubist forms, in line with the revival of interest in Neo-Classicism and what Jean Cocteau refered to as le rappel à l'ordre across French society. Many of the works are smaller in size and black becomes a dominant element of the artist's palette, as in this work. The return to order in terms of Braque's work resulted in a focus on the French tradition of still-life painting, with Poussin, Corot and Chardin providing his sources of inspiration, resulting in more naturalistic and accessible works. However, the rendering of a tactile sense of space is still Braque's pre-eminent artist concern, even in these later works: 'There is in nature a tactile space, I might almost say a manual space... This is the the space that fascinates me so much, because that is what early Cubist painting was, a research into space' (Braque quoted in John Golding, Braque, Still Lifes and Interiors, London, 1990, p. 9).