Claude Monet

Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist in 1884)

Georges Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the above)

Madame Jacques Lefébure, Paris (by descent from the above)

Galerie Durand-Ruel (acquired from the above on 16th January 1962)

Sam Salz, New York (acquired from the above on 23rd January 1962)

Martin T. & Sidney A. Zimet, New York

Sam Salz, New York (acquired in 1964)

Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York

John T. Dorrance, Jr., U.S.A. (acquired from the above in 1965. Sold: Sotheby's, New York, The Collection of John T. Dorrance, Jr., 18th October 1989, lot 13)

Acquired by the present owner in 1993

New York, Acquavella Galleries, Four Masters of Impressionism, 1968, no. 38, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Georges Lecomte, L'Art Impressionniste, Paris, 1892, discussed pp. 197-198

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, biographie et catalogue raisonné, Lausanne & Paris, 1979, vol. II, no. 919, illustrated p. 139

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, 1996, vol. II, no. 919, illustrated in colour p. 345

The canvas is lined. There are areas of retouching at all four edges and in the lower part of the background underneath the vase (which are excessive and could be reduced), visible under ultra-violet light. Apart from a horizontal line of craquelure running just under the vase, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly brighter in the original, particularly in the green tones.
"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."

Pavots rouge et rose belongs to a group of decorative panels which the legendary art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel commissioned from Monet for the doors of the drawing room in his apartment at 35, rue de Rome in Paris (figs. 1 & 2). The project, commissioned in May 1882, was envisaged to contain thirty-six decorative panels depicting flowers and fruit, to decorate six double doors. The present composition, designed for the largest, top section of one of the doors, has a distinctive tall and narrow format, depicting a vase placed on a table-top, containing two elegant, elongated poppies. It was positioned next to another vertical panel of a single white poppy in a vase, reflecting the artist’s way of adapting one of his favourite subjects to the formal requirements of a site-specific work.

 

This commission proved to be of great significance to Monet, who worked on it for several years, destroying several panels that he was not pleased with. Daniel Wildenstein wrote about the progress Monet was making on these works: ‘Since Monet’s client was so impatient, the artist immediately set to work. The task was to prove slower and more difficult than he had foreseen. Only two small panels had been completed by December, 1882. In the summer and autumn of 1883, after Monet had moved to Giverny, he worked relentlessly on the commission, urged on by Durand-Ruel who would send him vases for the bouquets of flowers. A substantial part of the work, including all the large panels, was delivered at the end of the year. […] The accounts of the Durand-Ruel company show that decorative panels were still being purchased from Monet in 1885. […] The panels on the doors of Paul Durand-Ruel’s drawing-room, which were described in 1892 by Georges Lecomte in L’Art impressionniste, Paris, p. 196-198, would remain in place at 35, Rue de Rome, Paris, until c. 1922 when they were moved to Georges Durand-Ruel’s apartment in the Rue Jouffroy’ (D. Wildenstein, op. cit., p. 344).

 

Paul Hayes Tucker commented on this group of works: ‘Charming, lusciously painted, and often quite novel in terms of their organization as decorative groups, these pictures were the kind that came easily to Monet’ (P. Hayes Tucker, Claude Monet, Life and Art, New Haven & London, 1995, p. 122). Indeed, the subject of a still-life of flowers would certainly have appealed to the artist and he often returned to it throughout his career, in between working on his landscapes. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, both Monet and Renoir painted floral still-lifes, a subject that was most readily saleable, and therefore provided a secure source of income to both artists. Monet exhibited several still-lifes of flowers during the Impressionist exhibitions of the late 1870s; and it was largely due to the artist’s success in these exhibitions that Durand-Ruel began to buy his paintings regularly, which eventually led him to commission this unique group of works for his own grand salon.