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拍品專文
The landscapes Soutine produced at the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer during the mid-1920s rank amongst the strongest he painted. Cagnes had provided inspiration to generations of artists largely on account of its beauty, not least Auguste Renoir who retired, and in 1919, died there. It is thus surprising to find, in one of the artist's rare surviving letters, Soutine complaining to his dealer Léopold Zborowski only a short time before Paysage de Cagnes was painted that 'It's the first time I haven't been able to do anything. I'm in a bad state of mind and demoralized and that affects me. I've only seven canvases. I'm sorry. I'd like to leave Cagnes; I can't stand the landscape' (Soutine, letter from Cagnes, 1923, quoted in M. Castaing & J. Leymarie, Soutine, London, 1965, p.26). This letter is in fact a vital clue to the core and nature of Soutine's painting. An immensely shy and introverted man, Soutine left little biographical documentation or evidence besides his paintings.
His life is known largely through speculation and the anecdotes of his acquaintances. However, it was in his paintings that Soutine vented all his pent up emotion and anxiety. He was renowned for his spontaneous appreciation of a certain view with certain light effects that he would immediately attempt to seize on canvas. These subjects acted as the theatre for his emotions, which would turn calm scenes of Southern France into the gnarled, jumbled landscapes that remain his trademark.
In his paintings in Cagnes in the mid-1920s, Soutine eschewed much of the tension and claustrophobia that had characterised his former output. Paysage de Cagnes ('Landscape of Cagnes'), painted around 1924 or 1925, forms part of a very small, but important, group of works Soutine painted from that particular spot. The distant vantage point he selected allowed him to present the town in its entirety with the hills and valley behind. The road receding into the distance affords a sense of depth and movement absent from many of his earlier landscapes. In Céret, where Soutine had previously been painting, he focussed mainly on details, compact scenes that gave a sense of restriction and in some cases even imprisonment, with dark trees often forming a cage-like effect. In Paysage de Cagnes, the depth and the crisp light on the walls translate an airiness detached from the confinement of his earlier pictures. This may in part be a reflection of his altered circumstances - it was in 1922 that the wealthy American industrialist Albert C. Barnes discovered Soutine's work and bought a vast number of his canvases in bulk, bringing the impoverished artist both recognition and financial security.
When Soutine had first visited Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1918, the impact on his work had been immediate. The dark, brooding atmosphere of his portraits and still-lifes was countered by a new sense of colour and space. Soutine had probably not left Paris since his arrival there in 1913, and was thus encouraged and sponsored by Zborowski to journey through the French countryside in order to expand his influences, in particular removing the overbearing dominance of the Louvre's Old Master paintings in his work. Cagnes would remain a pivotal subject in his artistic output, becoming a prominent feature in both his life and his work year after year. While his first visit with his great friend Amedeo Modigliani had a huge impact on his artistic development, it was only in the 1920s that his paintings truly embraced the light and colour of the countryside. However, just as introversion never left Soutine despite his success, so claustrophobia never left his work. The presence of only the tiniest glimpse of sky at the top cedes dominance to the dark hills and creates a feeling of containment and oppression despite the crisp, refreshing light on the houses' walls, filling Paysage de Cagnes with the intriguing and complex contrasts so intrinsic to Soutine's art.
For a man who left surprisingly little biographical evidence aside from his paintings and the anecdotes of his acquaintances, Paysage de Cagnes relates remarkably to several factors in his life. Not only does it reflect one of the most important moments in his artistic life, but its provenance bears witness to one of the most important friendships in Soutine's life. After living in squalor with many fellow artists in 'La Ruche', a building in Montparnasse, Soutine moved to nearby Cité Falguière. There, his neighbour was his friend Modigliani and he shared a room with the sculptor, explorer and collector Oscar Miestchaninoff. Soutine painted a portrait of Miestchaninoff during the same period that he created Paysage de Cagnes, an act exceptionally rare in Soutine's work as most of his portraits depicted peasants, doormen, waiters and pastry-cooks. He almost never painted his friends, and so the portrait is a telling testimony to the importance of a friendship likewise reflected in the provenance of Paysage de Cagnes.
His life is known largely through speculation and the anecdotes of his acquaintances. However, it was in his paintings that Soutine vented all his pent up emotion and anxiety. He was renowned for his spontaneous appreciation of a certain view with certain light effects that he would immediately attempt to seize on canvas. These subjects acted as the theatre for his emotions, which would turn calm scenes of Southern France into the gnarled, jumbled landscapes that remain his trademark.
In his paintings in Cagnes in the mid-1920s, Soutine eschewed much of the tension and claustrophobia that had characterised his former output. Paysage de Cagnes ('Landscape of Cagnes'), painted around 1924 or 1925, forms part of a very small, but important, group of works Soutine painted from that particular spot. The distant vantage point he selected allowed him to present the town in its entirety with the hills and valley behind. The road receding into the distance affords a sense of depth and movement absent from many of his earlier landscapes. In Céret, where Soutine had previously been painting, he focussed mainly on details, compact scenes that gave a sense of restriction and in some cases even imprisonment, with dark trees often forming a cage-like effect. In Paysage de Cagnes, the depth and the crisp light on the walls translate an airiness detached from the confinement of his earlier pictures. This may in part be a reflection of his altered circumstances - it was in 1922 that the wealthy American industrialist Albert C. Barnes discovered Soutine's work and bought a vast number of his canvases in bulk, bringing the impoverished artist both recognition and financial security.
When Soutine had first visited Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1918, the impact on his work had been immediate. The dark, brooding atmosphere of his portraits and still-lifes was countered by a new sense of colour and space. Soutine had probably not left Paris since his arrival there in 1913, and was thus encouraged and sponsored by Zborowski to journey through the French countryside in order to expand his influences, in particular removing the overbearing dominance of the Louvre's Old Master paintings in his work. Cagnes would remain a pivotal subject in his artistic output, becoming a prominent feature in both his life and his work year after year. While his first visit with his great friend Amedeo Modigliani had a huge impact on his artistic development, it was only in the 1920s that his paintings truly embraced the light and colour of the countryside. However, just as introversion never left Soutine despite his success, so claustrophobia never left his work. The presence of only the tiniest glimpse of sky at the top cedes dominance to the dark hills and creates a feeling of containment and oppression despite the crisp, refreshing light on the houses' walls, filling Paysage de Cagnes with the intriguing and complex contrasts so intrinsic to Soutine's art.
For a man who left surprisingly little biographical evidence aside from his paintings and the anecdotes of his acquaintances, Paysage de Cagnes relates remarkably to several factors in his life. Not only does it reflect one of the most important moments in his artistic life, but its provenance bears witness to one of the most important friendships in Soutine's life. After living in squalor with many fellow artists in 'La Ruche', a building in Montparnasse, Soutine moved to nearby Cité Falguière. There, his neighbour was his friend Modigliani and he shared a room with the sculptor, explorer and collector Oscar Miestchaninoff. Soutine painted a portrait of Miestchaninoff during the same period that he created Paysage de Cagnes, an act exceptionally rare in Soutine's work as most of his portraits depicted peasants, doormen, waiters and pastry-cooks. He almost never painted his friends, and so the portrait is a telling testimony to the importance of a friendship likewise reflected in the provenance of Paysage de Cagnes.