Rue à Fontarabie

Details

ODILON REDON (1840-1916)
Rue à Fontarabie
signed 'ODILON REDON' (lower right)
oil on canvas
20 ½ x 18 1/8 in. (52.3 x 46.2 cm.)

Provenance

Jacques Dubourg, Paris.
Shigetaro Fukushima, Tokyo.
Private collection, Japan (by 1965); sale, Christie's, New York, 9 May 2000, lot 121.
Acquired at the above sale by the late owner.

Literature

K. Berger, Odilon Redon: Fantasy and Colour, Cologne, 1965, p. 182, no. 4a.
M. Kuroe, "Odilon Redon dans les collections Japonaises" in Bulletin annuel du Musée National d'Art Occidental, 1969, no. 3, p. 22, no. 21 (illustrated).
J.-F. Moueix, Un amateur d'art éclairé à Bordeaux: Gabriel Frizeau, 1870-1938, Ph.D. diss., Université de Bordeaux, 1969, vol. II, p. 69.
A. Wildenstein, Odilon Redon: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, Fleurs et paysages, Paris, 1996, vol. III, p. 277, no. 1834 (illustrated).

Exhibited

(possibly) Winterthur, Kunstmuseum, Ausstellung Odilon Redon, June-July 1919, p. 12, no. 211.
Kamakura, Museum of Modem Art and Nagoya, Aichi Departmental Museum, Exposition d'Odilon Redon, September-November 1973, p. 31, no. 4 (illustrated in color).
Gifu, The Museum of Fine Arts; Kumamoto, Prefectural Museum of Art and Hiroshima, Prefectural Museum of Art, Odilon Redon: Rencontres et résonances, October 1985-January 1986, p. 223, no. 114 (illustrated in color, p. 117).

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Fontarabie, also known as Fuenterrabia, is a small village in the Spanish Basque region in the province of Guipùzcoa. Its name means "river made of sand." Redon visited the village on three occasions in 1861, 1878 and 1900. During the time of his visits the region was considered unspoiled by industrialism and attracted artists who were drawn by its exotic character and unique language and customs. Redon wrote a fictionalized account of his travels in the Basque region which he titled Un séjour dans le pays Basque. The was haunted by his recollections and his paintings convey the depth of his personal identification with the region.

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