André Derain (1880-1954): Madame Matisse au kimono
Oil on canvas, Painted in 1905
Derain’s portrait of Matisse’s wife at Christie’s A magnificent portrait by André Derain titled ‘Madame Matisse au kimono’ will highlight the Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie’s on May 8 in New York.]]>
March 26, 2013, source: Christie’s
This high fauve masterpiece is the most important portrait by the artist ever to appear at auction and represents a pivotal moment of artistic collaboration between André Derain and Henri Matisse. Derain painted ‘Madame Matisse’ in August 1905, during the famous summer he spent with Matisse in Collioure, prior to the now celebrated Salon d’Automne exhibition, when fauvism exploded with startling effect on the Parisian art world. Estimated at $15-20 million, the painting comes from a private European collection where it has resided over 40 years and will be presented as a star lot of Christie’s spring auction series devoted to major works of fine art.
Brooke Lampley, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art comments, “Derain is known for his vivid landscapes, but very few fully-realized portraits by Derain are known to exist. This lush and richly detailed homage to Madame Matisse stands as a symbol of the unique camaraderie and intellectual collaboration between Matisse and Derain, the two giants of the Fauve movement. To have a large-scale portrait of this exceptional caliber and with such a celebrated muse as its subject makes this an unparalleled collecting opportunity for fine art connoisseurs worldwide.”
This painting derives from the summer of 1905 when Derain and Matisse embarked on a frenzy of painting in Collioure that would change the course of modern art. The artists employed brilliant, exaggerated chroma that superseded any tones seen in nature, thereby challenging, even outraging, viewers and commentators alike. The products of this spectacular summer would lead to the fabled salle VII of the 1905 Salon d’Automne where the critic Louis Vauxcelles coined the term “les fauves”— “the wild beasts”— a sobriquet for this group of painters that would withstand the test of time. It is in light of this momentous historical moment that this radiant canvas of Amélie Matisse becomes a seductively talismanic emblem, marking the sense of community and shared objectives that united these two artists.
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