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Lot Essay
The paintings that Braque created during the Second World War herald the beginning of the great late florescence in his work, a rich and vital period that culminated in the renowned Atelier canvases of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the crowning achievement of the artist's long career. Braque did not stand aloof from the devastating defeat that his country suffered in 1940 at the hands of invading German armies, and he endured the anxieties and privations that beset many of his fellow countrymen during the Occupation. Before the war he had presciently declared, "The artist is always under threat...One cannot separate him from other men. He lives on the same level as everyone else" (quoted in Cahiers d'Art, vols. 1-4, 1939, p. 66). His response to this dire situation was to immerse himself in his art and to focus on the most elementary nature of things, to take stock of those objects that are most familiar and meaningful in the routine of daily living. In a time when life was especially fragile, when mere survival required a deliberate and all-engrossing effort, and nothing about one's existence could be taken for granted, this was an heroic quest indeed for a man who resolved to "suffer without being militant" (ibid.).
As the German Blitzkrieg overwhelmed French defenses in May-June 1940, Braque and his wife Marcelle took refuge near the Pyrenees, and briefly considered joining other artists who were making arrangements to go into foreign exile. Concerned, however, that the occupying forces would commandeer and ransack his house and studio, he decided to return to Paris and take his chances. The Germans did in fact turn a building across the street into a headquarters, and had broken into Braque's home, but had taken only his cherished accordion. It proved difficult for him to paint during this time. Braque normally completed 30-40 paintings per year, but he made only nine during 1939-1940, while turning to sculpture instead. He resumed painting in earnest in 1941, finishing nearly forty pictures, and slightly more in 1942, when he painted La toilette devant la fenêtre. Douglas Cooper has written: "Braque's subject matter was related exclusively to food and the daily routine of housekeeping. There is no symbolism here, but simply a reflection through Braque's eyes of the preoccupations of a wartime existence in a large city. One after another, Braque's still lifes are of kitchen tables with a sparse arrangement of objects... they evoke no festive or luscious sensations. Then too Braque embarked on another wholly uncharacteristic subject: bleak rooms with a washbasin, a bidet, a pitcher, a sponge, some soap, and perhaps a hairbrush or even a woman at her toilet" (quoted in Georges Braque: The Great Years, exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago, 1972, pp. 80-81).
The first owner of the present work was Aimé Maeght, Braque's dedicated dealer during the years following the end of the war. Maeght held aside for his private collection select paintings by Braque, which he especially admired.
As the German Blitzkrieg overwhelmed French defenses in May-June 1940, Braque and his wife Marcelle took refuge near the Pyrenees, and briefly considered joining other artists who were making arrangements to go into foreign exile. Concerned, however, that the occupying forces would commandeer and ransack his house and studio, he decided to return to Paris and take his chances. The Germans did in fact turn a building across the street into a headquarters, and had broken into Braque's home, but had taken only his cherished accordion. It proved difficult for him to paint during this time. Braque normally completed 30-40 paintings per year, but he made only nine during 1939-1940, while turning to sculpture instead. He resumed painting in earnest in 1941, finishing nearly forty pictures, and slightly more in 1942, when he painted La toilette devant la fenêtre. Douglas Cooper has written: "Braque's subject matter was related exclusively to food and the daily routine of housekeeping. There is no symbolism here, but simply a reflection through Braque's eyes of the preoccupations of a wartime existence in a large city. One after another, Braque's still lifes are of kitchen tables with a sparse arrangement of objects... they evoke no festive or luscious sensations. Then too Braque embarked on another wholly uncharacteristic subject: bleak rooms with a washbasin, a bidet, a pitcher, a sponge, some soap, and perhaps a hairbrush or even a woman at her toilet" (quoted in Georges Braque: The Great Years, exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago, 1972, pp. 80-81).
The first owner of the present work was Aimé Maeght, Braque's dedicated dealer during the years following the end of the war. Maeght held aside for his private collection select paintings by Braque, which he especially admired.