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Lot Essay
Jacques Chalom des Cordes will include this work in his forthcoming Van Dongen catalogue critique being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Institute.
Painted circa 1904, Le Moulin de la Galette dates from a pivotal moment in Kees van Dongen’s career, as the artist’s involvement in a series of important exhibitions, including the second Salon d’Automne and the artist’s first solo show at the Galerie Ambroise Vollard, firmly cemented his reputation as a leading member of the Parisian avant-garde. During the winter of that year, Van Dongen focused his attention on the exciting nightlife of Paris, concentrating on the carnival atmosphere of Montmartre and the Pigalle after dark. Still a relative newcomer to the city, he found himself dazzled by the explosive play of light, colour, music and movement in the numerous dance halls and nightclubs that filled the capital. The artist loved to immerse himself in the crowds that frequented these establishments, losing himself in the frenetic, pulsating atmosphere of the clubs, as fashionably dressed pleasure-seekers surrounded him, dancing and drinking the night away.
In the present work, Van Dongen captures the heady, intoxicating environment of the Moulin de la Galette, a famous Montmartre haunt of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and the Impressionists during the final decades of the Nineteenth Century. Van Dongen records the tumult of the crowds as they dance under the glowing electric lights, their forms dissolving into an incredible panoply of colourful dots that overlap and weave together to create a scene that pulsates with energy. Elongating his brushstrokes into rectangular daubs of bright pigment, the artist adapts the precise techniques of the Pointillists to his own unique vision, imbuing the canvas with a sense of the intense verve with which he executed the painting. While Van Dongen’s close friendships with Paul Signac and Maximilien Luce exerted a clear influence on his style during this period, it is evident from such works as Le Moulin de la Galette that the artist was beginning to explore new avenues of creative expression, as he sought to develop his own unique style of painting.
Painted circa 1904, Le Moulin de la Galette dates from a pivotal moment in Kees van Dongen’s career, as the artist’s involvement in a series of important exhibitions, including the second Salon d’Automne and the artist’s first solo show at the Galerie Ambroise Vollard, firmly cemented his reputation as a leading member of the Parisian avant-garde. During the winter of that year, Van Dongen focused his attention on the exciting nightlife of Paris, concentrating on the carnival atmosphere of Montmartre and the Pigalle after dark. Still a relative newcomer to the city, he found himself dazzled by the explosive play of light, colour, music and movement in the numerous dance halls and nightclubs that filled the capital. The artist loved to immerse himself in the crowds that frequented these establishments, losing himself in the frenetic, pulsating atmosphere of the clubs, as fashionably dressed pleasure-seekers surrounded him, dancing and drinking the night away.
In the present work, Van Dongen captures the heady, intoxicating environment of the Moulin de la Galette, a famous Montmartre haunt of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and the Impressionists during the final decades of the Nineteenth Century. Van Dongen records the tumult of the crowds as they dance under the glowing electric lights, their forms dissolving into an incredible panoply of colourful dots that overlap and weave together to create a scene that pulsates with energy. Elongating his brushstrokes into rectangular daubs of bright pigment, the artist adapts the precise techniques of the Pointillists to his own unique vision, imbuing the canvas with a sense of the intense verve with which he executed the painting. While Van Dongen’s close friendships with Paul Signac and Maximilien Luce exerted a clear influence on his style during this period, it is evident from such works as Le Moulin de la Galette that the artist was beginning to explore new avenues of creative expression, as he sought to develop his own unique style of painting.