Guileless Grace: 1930s Art Deco Period Floral Still Life Woman Artist Oil on Canvas

1920 - 1940

Sold by Skippings Fine Arts

Description

Here is a painting I have been sorely tempted to keep for myself! Dating from circa 1937, this floral still life by Madeleine Luka (1894-1989) has so much personality that it commands the room - in the most delicate, graceful way.

Madeleine Luka is classed as a "naive" artist and exhibited in this category in group exhibitions. As you can see, her "naivety" has nothing to do with ignorance or stylistic awkwardness. Rather, it denotes a wide eyed guilelessness, freshness, a search of innocence and a longing for times less harsh.

At the time when the oil on canvas presented here was painted, Madeleine Luka was considered to be one of the most important up-and-coming artists internationally. One of her first exhibitions was at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City in 1937, alongside Natalia Goncharova and Maurice de Vlaminck.

Madeleine's work was shown in Johannesburg, Tokyo, Geneva. In Paris, she exhibited with the prestigious Galerie Maurice Garnier, the Galerie Zak as well as at the Salon d'Automne, where a tribute exhibition to the artist was held in 1989. Further retrospective exhibitions of her work have been held in the Museum of Menton, the Museum of Amiens, the Charrenton town hall and at the Museum Louis Senlencq.

Paintings by Madeleine Luka are today held by the Pompidou Centre, the Musée du Quai Branly and the Musée Carnavalet in Paris and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Our oil on canvas by Madeleine Luka measures 50 x 39.5 cm and is signed by the artist - twice - at the lower right. On the verso, the artist marked the picture's title, her address on rue de Lille in Paris, and the artwork's destination - the Galerie Alban in Nice on the Côte d'Azur. The overall size of the painting including a very simple black frame is 52 x 41.5 cm.

Physical Dimensions

Height

50cm (19.69")

Width

39cm (15.35")

Depth

1cm (0.39")

Declaration

Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1930s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA936352

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

Madeleine Luka is classed as a "naive" artist and exhibited in this category in group exhibitions. As you can see, her "naivety" has nothing to do with ignorance or stylistic awkwardness.

“

Rather, it denotes a wide eyed guilelessness, freshness, a search of innocence and a longing for times less harsh.

Skippings Fine Arts

fig 1. Guileless grace: 1930s art deco period floral still life woman artist oil on canvas — fig 1. Guileless Grace: 1930s Art Deco Period Floral Still Life Woman Artist Oil on Canvas

At the time when the oil on canvas presented here was painted, Madeleine Luka was considered to be one of the most important up-and-coming artists internationally. One of her first exhibitions was at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City in 1937, alongside Natalia Goncharova and Maurice de Vlaminck.

fig 2. Guileless grace: 1930s art deco period floral still life woman artist oil on canvas — fig 2. Guileless Grace: 1930s Art Deco Period Floral Still Life Woman Artist Oil on Canvas

Madeleine's work was shown in Johannesburg, Tokyo, Geneva. In Paris, she exhibited with the prestigious Galerie Maurice Garnier, the Galerie Zak as well as at the Salon d'Automne, where a tribute exhibition to the artist was held in 1989. Further retrospective exhibitions of her work have been held in the Museum of Menton, the Museum of Amiens, the Charrenton town hall and at the Museum Louis Senlencq.

fig 3. Guileless grace: 1930s art deco period floral still life woman artist oil on canvas — fig 3. Guileless Grace: 1930s Art Deco Period Floral Still Life Woman Artist Oil on Canvas

Paintings by Madeleine Luka are today held by the Pompidou Centre, the Musée du Quai Branly and the Musée Carnavalet in Paris and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Our oil on canvas by Madeleine Luka measures 50 x 39.5 cm and is signed by the artist - twice - at the lower right. On the verso, the artist marked the picture's title, her address on rue de Lille in Paris, and the artwork's destination - the Galerie Alban in Nice on the Côte d'Azur. The overall size of the painting including a very simple black frame is 52 x 41.5 cm.