Lodewijk Schelfhout

Collection L. Alles, Haarlem
Thence by descent

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the colours are slightly intenser in the catalogue illustration. Condition: Very minor craquelures throughout. No restoration or retouches are apparent when examined under ultraviolet light. Recently professionally cleaned. This work is in excellent condition.
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In November 1910 Lodewijk Schelfhout, Henri Le Fauconnier and a few other Dutch artists, all grouped together in Paris,  founded De Moderne Kunstkring on the initiative of Conrad Kickert  . Their objective was to introduce in the Netherlands the latest developments in painting in Paris. The venture was financed by Kickert. The first exhibition was held a year later, in November 1911, at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. It was a great success, attracting six thousand visitors. Of the hundred and sixty six works on view, half came from abroad. As father of Cubism Paul Cezanne was well represented by twenty eight works from the famous Hoogendijk Collection. Also exhibited were nineteen works by Auguste Herbin, seven by Pablo Picasso and six by Georges Braque and Lodewijk Schelfhout submitted twelve works.

The second, much larger and most important exhibition of De Moderne Kunstkring was held from October to November 1912. At the end of that year Schelfhout was considered to be the most important of the group of Dutch artists in Paris. His work was exhibited in the hall of honour amongst works by George Bracque, Pablo Picasso and Henri le Fauconnier. Furthermore, at that time the group of Dutchmen in Paris was referred to as "De Group of Schelfhout".

After Schelfhout's definite return to the Netherlands at the beginning of 1913 Le Fauconnier's influence remained visible in his style as illustrated by the similarities between the present work and The Lake,  also dated 1913, from the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands. Both paintings do not only share almost identical measurements but also the motif of a landscape transposed into a much stronger abstract composition than in his earlier works. The shapes have been composed around the central theme in a circular motion. Also evoking Le Fauconnier's style are the partly intertwined and partly cut off shapes. The palette in the present work is dominated by a preference for grey, ochre and slate-blue, alternated with green and red colours and a bit of white.