Louis Valtat

Mr. & Mrs. John A. MacAulay
Sale: Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, November 22, 1989, lot 60
Acquired at the above sale

Essen, Museum Folkwang & Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh et les Modernes, 1990-91, no. 54, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Jean Valtat, Louis Valtat, Catalogue de l'oeuvre peint 1869-1952, vol. I, Paris, 1977, no. 353, illustrated p. 40

This work on paperboard has been mounted more recently onto a solid support. The work is clean and should be hung in its current state. Under ultraviolet light, a very thin line of restorations can be seen extending upwards from the center bottom edge into the fruit. There are a couple of small retouches in the upper right and upper left corner. On the top edge on the right side, there is a thin crack to the paint layer running about 5 inches that has been retouched. This is a very fresh and well preserved picture, with only a couple of other retouches in the pink tablecloth on either side of the large orange piece of fruit on the left side. The above condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes, an independent conservator 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.

Valtat’s vibrant still life Nature Morte aux Aubergines is a powerful celebration of the sights, textures and tastes of a lavish harvest. With its joyous color and generous use of paint, this painting paves the way for Valtat’s future career as a member of the Fauve group, who first exhibited together at the Salon d’Automne of 1905. But Valtat’s painting looks to the past as much as it does to the future; in its burning oranges and sumptuous violets we see the influence of Gauguin, whose paintings decades previously had legitimised such pure, intense palettes. Equally, Valtat’s impasto also owes something to van Gogh. The latter, who Raymond Cogniat said appeared a “daring example of freedom from discipline” (Raymond Cogniat, Louis Valtat: Ides et Calendes, Neuchâtel, 1963, p. 23), provided the impetus behind Valtat’s expressive brushwork, making this painting a far cry from the more delicate Impressionist paintings created earlier. This still life, strong and vibrating, proves Valtat as worthy of the accolade of the “indispensable link that explains the transition from Monet to Matisse” (ibid., p. 25).