Kees van Dongen

Henry van Abbe, Eindhoven (acquired from the artist by 1937)
Jan F. van Abbe, Waalre, The Netherlands (by descent from the above)
Tinus van Bakel, Waalre (acquired from the above in 1956)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2000 

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Van Dongen 1877-1937, Eere-Tentoonstelling, 1937, no. 9
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Kees van Dongen, werken 1894-1949, 1949, no. 85
Eindhoven, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum & Groningen, Groninger Museum voor Stad en Lande, Keerpunten in de Nederlandse schilderkunst 1920-1960, 1960, no. 31
Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Figuratie Defiguratie: de menselijke figuur sedert Picasso, 1964, no. 272
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne & Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Van Dongen, 1967-68, no. 135, illustrated in the catalogue

Gaston Diehl, Van Dongen, Milan, 1969, illustrated in colour p. 68

The canvas is unlined. There are some scattered spots and lines of retouching throughout, visible under ultra-violet light. Some of these retouchings appear to be excessive and could be reduced. Apart from a spot of paint loss in an area of thick impasto, in the figure's trousers, and some very slight and stable paint shrinkage, this work is in good condition. The painting would benefit from a light surface clean. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although brighter and fresher in the original.
"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."

Van Dongen's reputation as a master of cabaret and café concert themes was established early in his career, and his is exuberant palette and stylised figures enabled him to become the leading chronicler of this bohemian milieu. This work captures the libertarian atmosphere of 'The Jazz Age', a phrase coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald to describe the social and cultural dynamism of the years that following World War I. In Paris this reactionary exuberance led to the period labelled les années folles and Van Dongen was at the centre of the social whirl (fig. 1). Writing about this period of the artist'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' (D. Sutton, Cornelius Theodorous Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), Tuscon, 1971, p. 46.)

 

The present work is an extraordinary depiction of a cabaret, capturing the American performer Johnny Hudgins (1896-1990) in the midst of his vaudeville act. The work is a wonderful evocation of the nightclub ambiance, with a fashionable couple conversing in the foreground whilst Hudgins performs, backed by a Jazz band. Van Dongen's handling of paint remains Fauve in inspiration and the bold strokes of his brushwork brilliantly captures the glinting brass of the instruments. Hudgins started as a vaudeville performer in Baltimore and New York, and later performed in London and Paris. The 1920s saw a surge in popularity of these cabaret acts, and a number of different acts that toured Europe. Perhaps the most famous was La Revue Nègre, a cast of musicians and dancers from Harlem, who exploded on the stage of the Théâtre des Champs Élysées. Its talented young star, Josephine Baker (fig. 2), captivated audiences with a wild new dance – the Charleston – and became the high priestess of jazz culture in Paris. The French critic André Levinson described the impact of one of her performances, and also revealed how these acts were related to ideas that occupied the artistic avant-garde: 'Certain of Miss Baker's poses... had the compelling potency of the finest examples of Negro sculpture. The plastic sense of a race of sculptors came to life and the frenzy of African Eros swept the audience. It was no longer a grotesque dancing girl who stood before them, but the black Venus that haunted Baudelaire' (quoted in Douglas Mao & Rebecca L. Walkowitz, Bad Modernisms, Durham, USA, 2006, p. 150). 

 

Van Dongen's painting was influenced by German Expressionism, and aspects of the present work, in particular the figures in the band, have an Expressionist feel. Van Dongen had been persuaded to join Die Brücke by Max Pechstein when the German artist visited Paris in 1908, and exhibited with the group at Emil Richter's gallery in Dresden. The stylistic influence of the movements appears to have cut both ways; the first appearance of circus and cabaret subjects in German Expressionist art may well have been inspired by Van Dongen during Pechstein's stay in Paris in 1908, and postcards between Kirchner, Heckel and Pechstein record visits to cabaret in Dresden, Hamburg and Berlin in the following year. Contemporaries were certainly aware of some degree of shared influence; in 1909 the critic Paul Fechter, in his review of Berlin Secession of that year, noticed the similarity between Pechstein and Van Dongen, commenting 'Van Dongen appears to be one of the strongest talents, although at this time we only sense this indirectly' (p. 87). Pechstein's La Danse was clearly inspired by Van Dongen cabaret scenes, and there are stylistic elements in Kirchner's Reclining Nude with Pipe and Portrait of Dodo Seated which also reveal a debt to the Dutch artist. As well as being a magnificent depiction of the golden age of Parisian cabaret, Le Nightclub also illustrates the artistic cross currents at work in Van Dongen's art during this creative, experimental era.

 

 

Fig. 1, A Soirée at La Rue Denfert-Rochfort, Paris

Fig. 2, Josephine Baker performing her 'Banana Dance', Theater des Westens, Berlin, 1928

Fig. 3, Kees van Dongen, Anita – La Belle Fatima et sa troupe, circa 1905-07, oil on canvas. Sold: Sotheby's, New York, 4th November 2004