Balthus

Hélène Anavi, Paris (and sold: Sotheby's, London, March 27, 1984, lot 36)
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 14, 1985, lot 284)
Acquired at the above sale

New York, Allan Stone Gallery, The Figure, 2001

Balthus (exhibition catalogue), Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris & The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1983-84, no. 107, illustrated p. 358
Jean Leymarie, "Le dessin de Balthus" in Balthus (exhibition catalogue); Museum of Contemporary Art, Basil & Elise Goulandri Foundation, Andros & Villa Medici, Rome, 1990, p. 135
Claude Roy, Balthus, Paris, 1996, illustrated p. 74
Virginie Monnier & Jean Clair, Balthus: Catalogue Raisonné of the Complete Works, Paris, 1999, no. P.205, illustrated p. 158
Jean Clair, ed., Balthus (exhibition catalogue), Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 2001-02, illustrated p. 326

The board is sound. Surface is richly textured. Some cracking, primarily in the background at upper right in the orange-toned pigment and at upper left in the taupe toned pigment of the background. Two small spots of paint loss just above the figure's head towards right. Under UV light some strokes of retouching are visible around the extreme perimeter, especially at near lower right corner and the center of the left edge. There are some further tiny spots and hairline strokes of retouching around the figure's head, forehead and chin; otherwise fine. This work is in overall good condition.
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.

This painting is a study for one of Balthus’ largest and most compelling works dating from 1952-54, titled Passage du Commerce-Saint-André, depicting a street scene which might be an allegory of Titian’s “three ages of man”: infancy, adulthood, and old age. Here, the word “passage” takes on countless meanings from assent to old age to the passage of time and destiny, which Balthus is able to wholly translate on canvas. He depicts an intimate and familiar moment of Parisian life: Sundays when the city is at rest. The shops are closed and only the boulangerie is open as implied by the man fading in the distance, holding a baguette. Children play while an old man watches them; an aged woman strolls the small streets of Paris; and perhaps, most interestingly, a pensive girl stares out at the viewer grasping their attention and bringing them into the painting.

The power that lies in Balthus’ painting to captivate the viewer stems from his mastery of figure and light. At a time when many artists had moved on from figurative work, Balthus found inspiration in the past, taking his models from great masters and fresco painters of the quattrocento, the art of East, and another predecessor closer to home: Courbet. From them he derives his interest in calculated compositions, the ‘matière’ of paint and the effect of light. This study in particular depicts the central figure of Passage du Commerce-Saint-André, highlighting Balthus’ use of adolescent subjects in his work and his play with architectural formalism in the background. Here, Balthus has pushed the figure to the front of the canvas, making her presence prominent and imposing. Her gestural and brooding stance is intensified by the dark shading of her stern brow. Her pensive demeanor and hushed softness is heightened by Balthus’ technique; he used only primary colors and applied them in superimposed layers, covered by translucent coats of paint to achieve a duller effect. Through his technique, the figure becomes a sacred image of wisdom, consumed with her thoughts as her pure presence and stone gaze see past all questions.