MAURICE DE VLAMINCK | L'Étang

The Jones Foundation, U.S.A.
Knoedler & Co., New York
Sale: Galerie Koller, Zurich, 28 - 29th May 1976, lot 5240
Sale: Galerie Koller, Zurich, 13 - 14th May 1982, lot 5103
Private Collection, Germany (purchased at the above sale; sale: Sotheby's, London, 8th February 2006, lot 476)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1971 (on loan)

The canvas is lined. Examination under UV light reveals a thick layer of varnish preventing the UV light from fully penetrating. However, examination reveals a few scattered spots of inpainting in the sky along the upper edge and the clouds in the upper right quadrant, some further small spots of retouching to the river bank close to the figure at the centre of the composition, a spot of loss which has been infilled in the thick impasto of the riverbank in the lower left quadrant. There are scattered minor spots of retouching along the lower edge and the horizon. The canvas is slightly undulating in the upper two corners, and there is some stable craquelure to the thickest areas of impasto. 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. 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."

‘It seems to me that the water, sky, clouds and trees were aware of the happiness they gave me. I, a young man of seventeen, painted poems to life as one writes, at that age, to the woman one will never know.’
(Maurice de Vlaminck in Maïthé Vallès-Bled, Vlaminck, Critical Catalogue of Fauve Paintings and Ceramics, Paris, 2008, p.20)

This work is recorded in the archives of the Wildenstein Institute, and it will be included in the forthcoming Vlaminck digital database, being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.