Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, Circa 1920, Oil on Canvas

1900 - 1920

Sold by Skippings Fine Arts

Description

An extraordinary painting with an extraordinary journey.

In the mid 1940s, artist Henry Dauberville - heir to a dynasty of Paris art dealers who had been portrayed by Renoir aged 3! - painted a Southern French Landscape on a used canvas.

This was standard practice in the meagre years before and during the war, even by wealthier artists. Art supplies were scarce.

Rather than painting over the artwork already on the canvas, he used the other side. For good reason - the already existing painting, now delegated to the back of the stretcher, is magnificent.

Hence, either Dauberville himself - or a later owner - eventually flipped over the canvas, to bring the older, initial painting to the front.

This expressionist study of a woman with a fan, dates from the 1920s. Powerful yet delicate, this oil by an unidentified artist it is a modernist masterpiece. It bears similarities to the works of Marie Laurencin. How many artists would have had the audacity to shade a beautiful woman's face green? Yet it works, beautifully.

Changing the sides of the canvas evidently fragilised the extreme borders where the canvas folds over the stretcher bars, but this is hidden by the frame. Everything bar the borders is in excellent condition.

Measuring 65 x 54 cm, the paintings is presented in a gorgeous Spanish style frame. The overall framed size is 84 x 73 cm.

Physical Dimensions

Height

65cm (25.59")

Width

54cm (21.26")

Depth

1cm (0.39")

Declaration

Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1920s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA604943

Dealers Notes

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.

Description

An extraordinary painting with an extraordinary journey.

“

In the mid 1940s, artist Henry Dauberville - heir to a dynasty of Paris art dealers who had been portrayed by Renoir aged 3! - painted a Southern French Landscape on a used canvas.

Skippings Fine Arts

fig 1. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, circa 1920, oil on canvas — fig 1. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, Circa 1920, Oil on Canvas

This was standard practice in the meagre years before and during the war, even by wealthier artists. Art supplies were scarce.

Rather than painting over the artwork already on the canvas, he used the other side. For good reason - the already existing painting, now delegated to the back of the stretcher, is magnificent.

fig 2. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, circa 1920, oil on canvas — fig 2. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, Circa 1920, Oil on Canvas

Hence, either Dauberville himself - or a later owner - eventually flipped over the canvas, to bring the older, initial painting to the front.

This expressionist study of a woman with a fan, dates from the 1920s. Powerful yet delicate, this oil by an unidentified artist it is a modernist masterpiece. It bears similarities to the works of Marie Laurencin. How many artists would have had the audacity to shade a beautiful woman's face green? Yet it works, beautifully.

fig 3. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, circa 1920, oil on canvas — fig 3. Masterpiece: French Expressionist Portrait of a Beauty with a Fan, Circa 1920, Oil on Canvas

Changing the sides of the canvas evidently fragilised the extreme borders where the canvas folds over the stretcher bars, but this is hidden by the frame. Everything bar the borders is in excellent condition.

Measuring 65 x 54 cm, the paintings is presented in a gorgeous Spanish style frame. The overall framed size is 84 x 73 cm.