Maurice de Vlaminck

Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris (sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, La Collection Kahnweiler (4eme vente), 7-8th May 1923, lot 218)
Georges Lehoucq, Roubaix (purchased at the above sale)
Thence by descent to the present owner

The canvas is not lined. There are two spots of fluorescence, one to the left of the boat and the other just above it, probably caused by the undercoat fluorescing rather than retouching. There are some very thin 3cm. lines of retouching to cover fine craquelure just above the horizon on the right. There is a 2 by 0.5cm. paint loss to the horizon above the houses, a 0.5cm. line and a pinhead-sized spot of paint loss to the upper centre of the sky. Apart from some minor, stable craquelure to the edges of the canvas and to the thicker areas of pigment, this work is in good condition. Colours: The colours are deeper and more subtle 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."

Painted circa 1909, Les Péniches à Chatou epitomises the artist's transition from his Fauvist period to his Cézannesque period: the flamboyant colours and furious touch of the Fauve years are replaced by bluish tones, and by less dramatic, more accomplished harmonies. The construction of the painting is more muted, its spatial composition more measured. This solidly constructed landscape is characterised by the presence, in the foreground, of the barges, whose diagonal lines direct the viewer's gaze afar. On the opposite bank several bright ochre-red houses are nestled together. The expressive touch of the cloudy sky and the waves bear the mark of the Fauve years and contrast with the tranquil charm emanating from the rest of the composition.

The Cézanne retrospective exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1907 had a powerful effect on Vlaminck who from then on sought to find new sources of expression in the work of the Aix-en-Provence master. Progressively abandoning the use of pure colour, Vlaminck demonstrated a new feel for constructing planes and reducing shapes to geometric forms.

Deeply attached to the representation of the banks of the Seine which he had immortalised in his earlier Fauvist works, Vlaminck did not move away from this fertile subject matter. As Maïthé Vallès-Bled points out, 'during the Cézannesque period, the landscapes of the Seine valley remain Vlaminck's prevailing theme. A new sureness is revealed in the composition of the painting. Henceforth we find numerous views of villages, pretexts for the interweaving of shapes, for the synthesis of forms and the reconstruction of space with planes that owe as much to the painter's interest for African sculpture [...] as to his interpretation of Cézanne' (Vlaminck, Un Instinct fauve (exhibition catalogue), Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, 2008, p. 22). It is not surprising that a landscape with such a Cézannesque feel should have attracted the attention of the famous 'Cubism dealer' Kahnweiler who probably acquired it soon after its execution.