Ivan Puni (Jean Pougny)

Alexander Lerner, New York
Collection of Herman Berninger (1911-2012), Zurich
Acquired from the widow of the above by the present owner

Exhibition catalogue Exhibition of Paintings by Jean Pougny, London: Adams Brothers, 1950, no.38 listed
Exhibition catalogue Pougny - Oeuvres Récentes, Paris: Galerie de France, 1950, no.6 listed
Exhibition catalogue Pougny, New York: M.Knoedler & Co, 1952, no.2 listed
Exhibition catalogue Jean Pougny, Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 1960, p.26, no.96 listed; pl.V illustrated
Exhibition catalogue Jean Pougny 1894-1956, Amsterdam: Het Museum, 1961, no.106 listed
Exhibition catalogue Pougny 1894-1956, Paris: Galerie Charpentier, 1961, no.100 illustrated and listed
J.Lassaigne, Jean Pougny, Baden-Baden: W.Klein, 1964, fig.11 illustrated
Exhibition catalogue Pougny, Nice: Galeries des Ponchettes, 1961, illustrated on the cover
Exhibition catalogue Iwan Puni (Jean Pougny) 1898-1956, Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Reliefs, Berlin: Haus am Waldsee, 1975, no.79 illustrated and listed
H.Berninger and J.-A. Cartier, Pougny, Catalogue de l’oeuvre, vol.2, Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth, 1992, p.39 illustrated; p.234, no.919 illustrated and listed
Exhibition catalogue Jean Pougny, Paris: Paris-Musées, 1993, p.145, no.80 illustrated and listed
Exhibition catalogue Iwan Puni, 1892-1956, Berlin: Berlinische Galerie, 1993, p.155, no.80 illustrated and listed
Exhibition catalogue 0,10 - Iwan Puni, Bern: Benteli Verlag, 2003, p.227 illustrated

‘One characteristic of Puni which is of particular importance is the type of canvas he used to execute his paintings. Puni never used new canvases, preferring old ones, of which he always kept a reserve under the carpets in his studio. From 1937 onwards, he chose aged canvases, often cracked and worn, even revealing their weave, which he patiently prepared secretly before beginning to paint. It was then that he also got into the habit of mounting his paintings on wood and especially on masonite, by a secret procedure that gave stability and permanent protection to his works, which he always had framed under glass. The warm and precious material paired with the superimposition of the layers and Puni’s play with the imperfections and accidents of his canvases gives his paintings their inimitable dreamy atmosphere, successfully reflecting his inner emotions.’ (H.Berninger and J.-A. Cartier, Pougny, Catalogue de l’oeuvre, vol.1, Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth, 1972, pp. 86-87)