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Lot Essay
‘One must be content with saying that Christopher Wood possessed the gift of making everyday things both magical and mystical, and of performing the miracle effortlessly.’ (E. Newton, Christopher Wood, His Life and Work, London, 1938, p. 49).
Painted in Paris in 1925, Paris Square comes from an important year in the career of English artist, Christopher Wood, during which his distinctive, naïve style began to emerge. Having moved to Paris in 1921, by 1925, Wood had met many of the leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde, including Pablo Picasso and the writer and artist, Jean Cocteau, with whom he was sharing a studio in the year that Paris Square was painted. The bustling Parisian square is filled with an assortment of figures pictured under the stately, leafless trees of winter, the sun-dappled buildings of Paris framing the scene behind. Wood captured this scene of daily life in his own, unique style; Eric Newton stated that Wood’s works of 1925, such as Paris Square, are paintings that, ‘could have been painted by no one else. These are his “key” pictures.’ (E. Newton, Christopher Wood, His Life and Work, London, 1938, p. 45).
In 1920, while living in London, Wood had met the wealthy art dealer and patron, Alphonse Kahn who invited the young artist to stay with him in Paris. Wood arrived in the French capital aged 19, and enrolled in the Académie Julian and later the Grande Chaumière. Immersed in the eclectic avant-garde art world of Paris, and exposed to the astonishing variety of artistic styles there, Wood developed a highly personal style such as is evident in Paris Square. With a sense of simplicity and rapidity, Wood has portrayed a snapshot of Paris, using bursts of bold colour such as the orange of women’s coats, the bright green of the triangular segments of grass, and the light blue of the fountain, which imbue the scene with a lively vibrancy and vitality. ‘If Wood had not lived a cosmopolitan existence, with Paris as his headquarters’, Eric Newton wrote, ‘I doubt whether he would have achieved that confident grip of his craft as early as he did. The series of decisions and accidents that cut him off from England and threw him into the cross-currents of continental life set his art free.’ (E. Newton, ibid., pp. 57-58). It was the artistic diversity and cosmopolitanism of Paris that provided Wood with the subject matter and stylistic inspiration with which to forge his personal artistic style, such as is evident in this vibrant scene of city life.
Painted in Paris in 1925, Paris Square comes from an important year in the career of English artist, Christopher Wood, during which his distinctive, naïve style began to emerge. Having moved to Paris in 1921, by 1925, Wood had met many of the leading figures of the Parisian avant-garde, including Pablo Picasso and the writer and artist, Jean Cocteau, with whom he was sharing a studio in the year that Paris Square was painted. The bustling Parisian square is filled with an assortment of figures pictured under the stately, leafless trees of winter, the sun-dappled buildings of Paris framing the scene behind. Wood captured this scene of daily life in his own, unique style; Eric Newton stated that Wood’s works of 1925, such as Paris Square, are paintings that, ‘could have been painted by no one else. These are his “key” pictures.’ (E. Newton, Christopher Wood, His Life and Work, London, 1938, p. 45).
In 1920, while living in London, Wood had met the wealthy art dealer and patron, Alphonse Kahn who invited the young artist to stay with him in Paris. Wood arrived in the French capital aged 19, and enrolled in the Académie Julian and later the Grande Chaumière. Immersed in the eclectic avant-garde art world of Paris, and exposed to the astonishing variety of artistic styles there, Wood developed a highly personal style such as is evident in Paris Square. With a sense of simplicity and rapidity, Wood has portrayed a snapshot of Paris, using bursts of bold colour such as the orange of women’s coats, the bright green of the triangular segments of grass, and the light blue of the fountain, which imbue the scene with a lively vibrancy and vitality. ‘If Wood had not lived a cosmopolitan existence, with Paris as his headquarters’, Eric Newton wrote, ‘I doubt whether he would have achieved that confident grip of his craft as early as he did. The series of decisions and accidents that cut him off from England and threw him into the cross-currents of continental life set his art free.’ (E. Newton, ibid., pp. 57-58). It was the artistic diversity and cosmopolitanism of Paris that provided Wood with the subject matter and stylistic inspiration with which to forge his personal artistic style, such as is evident in this vibrant scene of city life.