Beschreibung:

RAOUL DUFY (FRENCH 1877-1953)
LE PORTAIL EN PROVENCE
Gouache
Signed (lower centre)
49 x 64.5cm (19¼ x 25¼ in.)
Provenance:
Sale, Palais Galliéra, Paris, 26 March 1966, lot 50
Galerie Claude van de Veene, Cannes
Private Collection, London (acquired from the above in 1966)
Thence descent to the late owner
Literature:
Fanny Guillon-Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné des aquarelles, gouaches et pastels, Editions Louis Carré & Cie, 1981, p. 88, cat no. 244 (illustrated)
Since first visiting the south of France in 1903, Dufy returned virtually every year to soak up the warmth and experience the unparalleled effect of light on the landscape. The present work depicts olive groves beyond a set of impressive gates and the rolling hills of Provence in the background. The colours are typical of Dufy's colour palette - luminous blue washes and vibrant greens that pop out from the sheet and immerse the viewer in the scenery.
Born in Le Havre in 1877, Dufy moved to Paris in 1900 to study at the Ecole Nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts. He was initially influenced by the Impressionists until, in 1905, at the Salon des Indépendants, he was enthralled by the work of Henri Matisse and turned his attention to the Fauvist movement. The Fauves preference for strong, bright colours applied in sweeping emotive brushstrokes over realistic and representative depictions, appealed to the young Dufy. However, it was not until the 1920s, after experimenting with Cubism, that Dufy developed his mature style. Retaining the pre-occupation with light and colour, his mature works are eminently decorative, with subject matter ranging from glittering coastal views of the Cote d'Azur, to cafe scenes, horse racing and fashionable townscapes.
The present work is typical of Dufy's mature style, with its fluid black outlines, foreshortened perspective and distinctive colour palette.