Lot 13 | Raoul Dufy | L'Orchestre

DUFY, RAOUL
1877 Le Havre - 1953 Forcalquier

Title: L'Orchestre.
Date: 1942.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 46 x 61cm.
Notation: Signed lower left: Raoul Dufy. Additionally equipped with collector's stamp upper right: M. Eugène STORCK, Notaire. SAINT-AVOLD (Moselle).
Frame/Pedestal: Craftman's frame.

This work is accompanied by a certificate from Fanny Guillon-Laffaille, Paris, dated 10 July 2001. The work will be included in the 2nd supplement to the catalogue raisonné of paintings, which is currently in preparation, and is already listed on the official website under catalogue number Ps-0192. (www.catalogue-raisonne-raoul-dufy.fr)

Provenance:
- Eugène Storck Collection, Saint-Avold/Moselle
- Berthe Reysz Collection, Perpignan
- Artcurial, Paris, auction 30th June 2003, lot 62
- Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia

Exhibitions:
- Galerie Fanny Guillon-Laffaille, Paris 1993
- Musée de Bunkamura, Tokyo 1994
- Musée Nichido de Kasama, Kasama 1994
- Himeji City Museum of Art, Himeji 1995
- Toyohasi City Art Museum, Toyohasi 1995
- Centre International d'art et d'animation, Le Poet Laval 2000

Literature:
- Guillon-Laffaille, Fanny: Raoul Dufy. Peintures. Supplement no. 2,
- Exhibition catalogue Dufy et la Musique, Galerie Fanny Guillon-Lafaille, Paris 1993, ill. p. 5
- Exhibition catalogue Raoul Dufy. Mer et Musique, Musée de Bunkamura, Tokyo/ Musée Nichido de Kasama, Kasama/Himeji City Museum of Art, Himeji/Toyohashi City Art Museum, Toyohashi 1994/95, cat. no. 81, ill.
- Exhibition catalogue Raoul Dufy, Centre International d'art et d'animation, Le Poet Laval 2000, ill. p. 22

- Raoul Dufy is a style-defining pioneer of modernism
- Warm-toned and dense orchestral performance with lively movement and dynamics
- The captivating dialogue between musicality and painting is a feast for the senses

The beginnings

Raoul Dufy is not only a painter, but also a graphic artist, illustrator, ceramist and textile artist. His imagery exudes a magical lightness that celebrates life in its most beautiful form. With expressive colours, dynamic compositions and sweeping lines, he creates works of unmistakable poetry. Under his brushstrokes, everyday scenes are transformed into cheerful, rhythmically pulsating snapshots – full of elegance, musicality and visual esprit. As an important representative of Fauvism and a style-defining pioneer of modernism, Dufy gives art a new, unmistakable language.

Coming from a modest background, he began his artistic career with evening classes at the municipal art school in his hometown of Le Havre before continuing his training at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Initially influenced by Impressionism, from 1905 onwards he was inspired by the painting style of Henri Matisse and discovered the vibrant colours of Fauvism; his acquaintance with Georges Braque and inspiration from Paul Cézanne brought a certain austerity and order to his painting. Initially unsuccessful with his paintings, Dufy turned to textile design and found his way into the world of fashion through his own decoration studio.

He designed fabrics for Paul Poiret and worked as a draughtsman for the renowned silk house Bianchini-Férier from 1910 to 1914. These creative experiences enriched his painting and led to a refined technique and balanced, differentiated colouring.

Dufy's world of music
In his later work, his paintings achieve a watercolour-like delicacy, soft colour tones and graceful melodies. Music is one of Dufy's favourite motifs – in 1942, he began a series of paintings depicting instruments, orchestras and concerts. Like no other, he understood how to translate the sensual world of melody and rhythm into colour and form. An outstanding example of this artistic dialogue between sound and image is the painting "L'Orchestre": a vibrant scene that is far more than a mere reproduction of what is seen – it is a visual sound space.
With sketch-like ease, musicians and instruments form a pulsating ensemble. The lines dance, the colours vibrate – everything seems to be in motion, permeated by the beat of the music. Dufy deliberately refrains from precisely reproducing individual figures; he is not interested in the individual, but in the shared experience of making music.
The multi-figure scene thrives on rhythmically placed lines and shimmering areas of colour. The palette is rich and expressive: warm ochre, red and brown tones lend the painting a festive aura. Cooler blue and green tones – especially in the musicians' instruments and suits – set lively accents and create a harmonious dynamic.
The painting is exemplary of Dufy's late creative phase, in which he elevated music to a central theme. Here, the artist achieves the seemingly impossible: making the sensual essence of music visible – as a luminous composition of sound, colour and movement – a feast for the senses.
Doris Hansmann