José María Sert 1874 - 1945

Dr Antoni Puigvert
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner in 1987

London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, Exhibition of two decorations and some sketches by J. M. Sert, 1920
Barcelona and Madrid, Caixa de Barcelona, José María Sert. Collecció Dr. A. Puigvert, 1986

José María Sert 1874-1945, exh. cat., Madrid,1987, p. 91, illustrated
Alberto del Castillo and Alexandre Cirici, José María Sert. Su vida y su obra, Barcelona & Buenos Aires, 1947, pp. 85 & 96-98, discussed

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Structural Condition The three separate panels are securely fixed within the framing arrangements. Two of the individual panels have thin wooden batons attached to the reverse of the upper and lower horizontal edges. There are thin vertical splits visible on the reverse of the panels and corresponding craquelure lines visible on the paint surface. Paint surface The paint surfaces have very discoloured varnish layers and should respond extremely well to cleaning and revarnishing. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows small scattered spots of inpainting and thin lines filling the vertical craquelure pattern. The majority of these retouchings have discoloured and are therefore also visible in natural light. These should be removed and, where necessary, replaced during the cleaning process. Summary The three separate panels would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and should respond very well to cleaning, restoration and revarnishing.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Executed between 1917-1920, the present work is a study for a series of silverleaf and oils on panel titled The Four Seasons, designed for the dining room of Arthur 'Boy' Capel, who was well-known in his day for his very public affair with Coco Chanel between 1909 and 1919 (it was almost certainly Coco who introduced Capel to Sert).