Sixty Works by Modern Masters - Flipbook - Page 41
Kees van Dongen
"Painting is the most beautiful of lies."
Kees van Dongen
Dutch, 1877 - 1968
Cannes, Le Port, 1923
Oil on canvas
39½ x 32¼ inches / 100.5 x 82 cm
Signed lower centre: Van Dongen
Inscribed and dated on the stretcher: Cannes 23
Dutch Fauvist and Expressionist
painter Kees van Dongen is perhaps
most widely known for his portraits
of contemporary high society, and
famously described the female body
as ‘the most beautiful landscape’.
In this unique example, however,
van Dongen turns his attention
to the French Riviera, the sunlit
atmosphere of which he evokes with
a soft, shimmering palette. The artist’s
characteristically visible brushstrokes
and flat patches of colour
demonstrate the expressionistic
flavour of his work. Van Dongen
spent a great deal of time in the
South of France throughout his
career, and moved to the region in
his later years.
40
Provenance
Anon. sale, Palais Galliera, Paris, 12 December 1973
(titled: Le vieux port à Cannes and illustrated on the cover of the catalogue)
Kunsthandel ML de Boer, Amsterdam (purchased at the above sale)
Acquired from the above by the family of the previous owner, 1973
Exhibited
Laren, Holland, Singer Museum, 1976
Literature
Edouard des Courières, Van Dongen, Paris, 1925,
illustrated pl. 65 (titled: Le port de Cannes)
This painting is accompanied by a certificate
of authentication kindly issued by the
Wildenstein Institute, Paris.