Santiago Rusiñol

Purchased by the grandparents of the present owner; thence by descent

Barcelona, Sala Parés, 1923
Rome, Seconda Biennale Romana, 1923, no. 5, illustrated in the catalogue
Pittsburg, Philadelphia, New York, Saint Louis; Carnegie Institute Exhibition, 1926, no. 325 (as Garden of Jativa)

Guido Cim, Visioni di Poesia alla Biennale Romana, Rome, 1923, p. 45, illustrated
La pintura catalana contemporánea, Barcelona, 1931, fig. 3
Isabel Coll y Mirabent, Santiago Rusiñol, Sabadell, 1992, p. 399, illustrated (as Jardín de Játiva, circa 1908-1912)
Josep de C. Laplana, Santiago Rusiñol, el pintor, l'home, Abadía de Montserrat, 1995, no. 13.34
Josep de C. Laplana & Mercedes Palau-Ribes, La pintura de Santiago Rusiñol. Catàleg sistemàtic, Barcelona, 2004, no. 13.6.1, catalogued & illustrated (as La Font dels Xiprers, 1922)

The painting has been strip-lined along all four tacking edges. Although the signature appears to fluoresce under UV light, this is the artist's original pigments and not retouching, and the signature is original. Apart from some thin lines of retouching visible under UV light addressing craquelure in the foliage in the upper right, some small spots in the sky in the upper left, and some very minor craquelure visible only under close inspection in the centre right, overall this work is in good condition. Held in a gold-painted traditional decorative frame.
"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 in 1922, La fuente de los cipreses depicts the cypresses and fountain of a Franciscan convent on the outskirts of Játiva in Valencia, a region whose gardens Rusiñol had first started painting in 1901, and which drew him back again and again.

Rusiñol's burgeoning success as a painter enabled him to concentrate almost completely on the subject closest to his heart, Spain's gardens and landscapes. From 1900 he travelled widely across the regions of Spain, painting in Gerona, Horta, Cataluña, Valencia, Ibiza, Mallorca, Játiva, La Granja and Aranjuez. Wherever he went, Rusiñol recorded the sometimes domestic, at other times enigmatic, forms and rich vegetation of the shrubbery, orchards, flowerbeds and arboretums that he discovered.