Maximilien Luce

Sale: Blache, Versailles, June 18, 1980, lot 163
Sale: Sotheby's, London, February 9, 2005, lot 561
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

(Probably) Paris, Frédéric Luce, Travail-Peintures de Maximilien Luce, 1951

Jean Bouin-Luce & Denise Bazetoux, Maximilien Luce, Catalogue de l'oeuvre peint, vol. II, Paris, 1986, no. 2312, illustrated p. 538

The medium is oil on canvas, the canvas has been lined. The surface is in good condition, though lightly painted in places and slightly flattened in the sky due to the relining. Under UV there are scattered areas of fluorescence: along the extreme edges, in the sky, around and in the horses, in the lower right corner in and around the baskets, and two small dashes just above the standing figure's head. The colors are clear and bright and the work presents very well.
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.

A partial label on the stretcher bears the address 16 rue de Seine, the Paris residence of Frédéric Luce, the artist's second son. Frédéric held a retrospective of his father's paintings at his home from April 22 to May 11, 1951. Among the works shown in that exhibition was the seminal Une rue de Paris en mai 1871, Luce's large-scale depiction of the Paris Commune, now in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.