Kees van Dongen

Madame Jenny, Nice (acquired from the artist in 1959)

Galerie Paul Pétridès, Paris

Private Collection, Switzerland

Private Collection (acquired in 1965)

Galerie Hopkins-Custot, Paris

Acquired from the above

Roquefort-les-Pins, Musée de Roquefort-les-Pins; Nice, Galerie des Ponchettes, Van Dongen, 1958-59, no. 50

Geneva, Musée de l'Athenée, Van Dongen, 1877-1968, 1976, no. 28 (as dating from 1924)

Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Kees Van Dongen, 1989-90, no. 48

Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Van Dongen, Le Peintre, 1990

Paris, Musée  National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou; Barcelona, Centre de cultura contemporania de Barcelona, Visions Urbaines, La Ville, 1870-1993, Art et Architecture en Europe, 1994

Edmond des Courières, Van Dongen, Paris, 1925, illustrated pl. 47

Louis Chaumeil, Van Dongen, l'homme et l'artiste - La vie et l'oeuvre, Geneva, 1967, illustrated pl. XXVI (as dating from 1924)

Jean Melas Kyriazi, Van Dongen après le Fauvisme, Lausanne, 1976, illustrated p. 51

Colette Vitoux, "A la Recherche de Van Dongen," Info's Paris XVI, Paris, May 1990

Hidden Face, Hidden Portraits: The Scientific Examination of Works of Art, Tokyo, 1993, fig. 26, illustrated p. 21

 

Very good condition. The canvas is lined. Under ultra-violet light there are some insignificant specks of inpainting in the sky to the left of center, a few specks along extreme bottom and top edge, and a small area in upper right corner, however the vast majority of canvas is untouched and 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

La Porte Dauphine in a quintessential example of the light-hearted sophistication that defined van Dongen's art of the 1920s.   The composition depicts a sidewalk scene at the junction of the Avenue Foch and the Bois de Boulogne, bustling with stylishly dressed groups of women and men.  The image is theatrical, and the artist has rendered the characters by accentuating their most elegant outfits while featuring one of Paris' most famous avenues and the Arc de Triomphe.   This was the Roaring Twenties, and Van Dongen has captured here all of the style and excitement of that era.  The Porte Dauphine was the location of Paris' first underground metro station, inaugurated in 1900.  For van Dongen, there was no better setting than a busy transit center to see the exuberance of the times in its full splendor.      

Writing about this period of van Dongen's career, Denys Sutton commented: "During the 1920s, van Dongen became one of the most talked of figures in the French art world and it is only necessary to run through the volume of press cuttings belonging to [his daughter] to be aware of the fact that his name was news. He was a frequent visitor to Deauville, where the smart world gathered, and to the cabarets and restaurants of Paris. What appealed to him about the années folles were their movement and gaiety. He once said: 'I passionately love the life of my time so animated, so feverish! Ah! Life is even more beautiful than painting'" (Denys Sutton in Cornelius Theodorus Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), Tucson, 1971, p. 46).