Maurice de Vlaminck

Gabriel & Madeleine Fodor, Paris (thence by descent and sold: Christie's, Paris, May 21, 2008, lot 52)
Acquired at the above sale

The work is in excellent original condition. The canvas is not lined. The impasto is well-preserved. There is evidence of minor craquelure in the center of the sky. The work would benefit from a light cleaning. Under UV light, there is no inpainting apparent.
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.

No longer satisfied by the flat planes and pure colors of his Fauve style, and wishing not to be “limited by the blue or red of a paint dealer,” Vlaminck turned to the Northwest suburbs of his native Paris for inspiration (Marcil Giry, Fauvism, Origins and Development, New York, 1982, p. 219). The Cézanne retrospective at the Salon d'Automne in 1907 proved to have a strong impact as Vlaminck entered this transitional period; the painter was clearly overwhelmed by the intensity of Cézanne's brushwork and attention to light (see fig. 1). Indeed, much like Cézanne’s fascination with Provence, Vlaminck drew constant inspiration from the suburban landscape and towns grouped along the Seine as it flowed out of the capital. "You cannot come into profound contact with things by looking at a landscape through the door of an automobile like a tourist, or by spending your vacations in a corner of the countryside. You don't flirt with nature, you possess it" (quoted in James Herbert, Fauve Painting: The Making of Cultural Politics, New Haven, 1992, p. 53).

Painted between 1912 and 1915, Paysage d’Osny reveals Vlaminck’s extraordinary ability to convey atmosphere and a sense of place through his highly accomplished and assured painterly language. Although ambivalent about the fresh waves of visiting bourgeoisie overrunning small towns like Osny, Vlaminck memorialized these regions through his commitment to the interplay of color and light in his landscapes. As discussed by John Klein, "Because Derain and Vlaminck were longtime residents of the region, the motifs that they painted in Chatou and the surrounding area were deeply familiar to them. The sense of being of the place gives their paintings a profoundly different character, at once more intimate and more poignant, than the canvases of Bougival, Chatou, or La Grenouillère by Renoir and Monet, who had been tourists like all the others" (The Fauve Landscape, (exhibition catalogue), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1990, p. 131).