- 108
HENRI MATISSE | Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre'
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
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Description
- Henri Matisse
- Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre'
- signed with the artist’s initials HM (lower left)
- watercolour on paper
- 24.8 by 31.8 cm., 9 3/4 by 12 1/2 in.
- Executed in 1905.
Provenance
Sale: Christie's, New York, 6th November, 1991, lot 118
Henry & Marianne Reed, Montclair, New Jersey (purchased at the above sale)
Thence by descent to the present owner
Henry & Marianne Reed, Montclair, New Jersey (purchased at the above sale)
Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
Brisbane, Queensland Art Gallery; Canberra, National Gallery of Australia & Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, Matisse, 1995, no. 31, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, Hollis Taggart Galleries, The Color of Modernism: The American Fauves, 1997, no. 46
Cateau-Cambrésis, Musée Matisse & Céret, Musée départemental d'art moderne, Matisse-Derain, Collioure 1905, un été fauve, 2005-06, no. 86, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, Hollis Taggart Galleries, The Color of Modernism: The American Fauves, 1997, no. 46
Cateau-Cambrésis, Musée Matisse & Céret, Musée départemental d'art moderne, Matisse-Derain, Collioure 1905, un été fauve, 2005-06, no. 86, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Condition
Please note that there is a professional condition report for this work, please contact mariella.salazar@sothebys.com to request a copy.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
‘Working before a soul-stirring landscape, all I thought of was making my colours sing, without paying any heed to rules and regulations’
(Henri Matisse quoted in P. Schneider, Matisse, London, 1984, p. 203). Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre', executed in 1905, dates from the very pinnacle of Matisse's first experiments in Fauvism. The present work is a study for the monumental painting Le Bonheur de vivre, which was first exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants of 1906. It's huge scale and shocking colours faced mixed reviews among contemporary critics, but the Arcadian landscape, filled with a vibrant forest, meadow, sky and sea, populated by nude figures both at rest and in motion, is widely regarded as one of the pillars of early Modernism.
Inspired by the lush vegetation and intense light of the untouched landscape of the south of France, Matisse created a succession of pictures in which he honed his intensely vivid and energetic style. Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre' provides a wonderful insight into Matisse's artistic approach. Abandoning the controlled pointillist style of Neo-Impressionism which had dominated his paintings in recent years, he employed dynamic and expressive brushstrokes, executed in an explosive palette of complimentary colours; the combination of yellow, purple, red, green, orange and blue translates the light and atmosphere of the landscape onto canvas.
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Wanda de Guébriant.
(Henri Matisse quoted in P. Schneider, Matisse, London, 1984, p. 203). Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre', executed in 1905, dates from the very pinnacle of Matisse's first experiments in Fauvism. The present work is a study for the monumental painting Le Bonheur de vivre, which was first exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants of 1906. It's huge scale and shocking colours faced mixed reviews among contemporary critics, but the Arcadian landscape, filled with a vibrant forest, meadow, sky and sea, populated by nude figures both at rest and in motion, is widely regarded as one of the pillars of early Modernism.
Inspired by the lush vegetation and intense light of the untouched landscape of the south of France, Matisse created a succession of pictures in which he honed his intensely vivid and energetic style. Étude pour 'Le Bonheur de vivre' provides a wonderful insight into Matisse's artistic approach. Abandoning the controlled pointillist style of Neo-Impressionism which had dominated his paintings in recent years, he employed dynamic and expressive brushstrokes, executed in an explosive palette of complimentary colours; the combination of yellow, purple, red, green, orange and blue translates the light and atmosphere of the landscape onto canvas.
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Wanda de Guébriant.