Auguste Herbin

Johanna & Ludovic Lawrence, Jerusalem (acquired before 1975)
Bequest of the above in 1998

Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Showing Off: Modern Art in the Israel Museum Collection, 2001

This oil on board has not been reinforced on the reverse and is still flat and well supported in its frame. The paint layer is stable and in lovely condition. The upper right corner appears to have suffered a loss and the restoration here, if indeed it is restoration, is still slightly visible. It is unlikely that the repair was carried out by the artist. The condition is extremely healthy throughout the remainder of the picture. The paint layer is clean. The painting does not appear to be strongly varnished and those few tiny areas that the artist did not cover with paint are slightly visible yet have not given rise to any paint loss. The painting could be hung as is. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Few exhibitions have influenced artistic practice so decisively as the 1907 Cézanne retrospective at the Paris Salon d'Automne.  In its wake, a younger generation of artists, including Herbin, shifted directions radically, opening up the arteries of Modernism.  Nature morte, a rare example of a still-life from the artist's iconic Cubist period, is an almost virtual translation of Cézanne's famous call to treat nature with the "cylinder, the cone and the sphere." While the subject of calla lilies and foliage is Herbin's own, Cézanne's legacy permeates the entire composition, from the taut, fractured structure of the composition to the short, staccato brush strokes.  Even the choice of vantage point and slight upward tilt of the table top create a decidedly "Cézannien" atmosphere.  Yet Herbin paints Nature morte with tremendous authenticity and originality.  Geneviève Claisse, in her catalogue raisonné of Auguste Herbin, states in her forward, ". . .[the] bearer of an ethical tradition of work and social duty, Herbin approached each painting as a new creation in its own right.  There was no self-indulgence permitted, no deliberate repetition, no nod to critics, patrons, institutions nor, of course the market" (Geneviève Claisse, Herbin, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1993, Lausanne. n.p).

 

Fig. 1 Paul Cézanne, Seven Apples, 1877-78, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw, New York