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拍品专文
The art of Edgard Tytgat art holds an exceptional place within the Belgian art-world of the first half of the twentieth century. It can be described as a quite unusual combination of a painterly style with strong narrative elements. Well related in artist circles, he was a good friend of the influential artist Rik Wouters. As his early works clearly show the influence of impressionism, he soon developed his own very recognisable style, in which he created a synthesis of form. This style can be described as a simplification of the reality with an intended naivety. He derived his inspiration from daily life and incorporated these experiences in his own dream world. Tytgats work always has a certain poetic and playful character, soft irony, youthful courage and underlying eroticism.
The present lot is a good example of his style and manner of storytelling. The naive way of painting certainly helps creating a tension between the reality and the dream world of the artist; he is able to create a dialogue between the two.
Even though it is hard to understand the full meaning, the present painting introduces us into the world of Edgard Tytgat. There are several layers of interpretation of the painting. At a superficial level we see a composition with some of Tytgats beloved pictorial elements: a woman at a table in an interior, an opened window and a musician. Looking at the painting in this way immediately arouses questions. What is the woman doing alone in this room? What goes through her mind? Is she resting her head on her arms or is she covering her ears because she does not want to hear the music of the violin player? Why doesn't she want to hear the music, does it remind her of something?
For every question there seems to be another question. Although it is not possible to answer all of them, Tytgat leaves us an important clue: the two paintings on the wall behind the woman. These works, inscribed with the titles L'envie and Le regret, give the present painting its title. They are an obvious reference to two works that the artist painted in 1922 and 1923. These works, which have always been in the same collection (Dasnoy, 1965 cat. no. 119 and 131) were intended as pendants or part of a series. They have their own mystical and symbolical charge. Although the paintings have their own interpretation layers, the titles that Tytgat gave them, Envy and Regret, seem to give us insight in the state of mind of the portrayed woman.
It is the combination of these narrative elements that Tytgat applied, combined with his clear and simple style that gives the present composition its symbolical character. The fact that Tytgat re-uses these two earlier works almost 20 years later, is marking a turning point in Tytgats career. In the 1940's he developed a brighter colour palette and his technique became looser. In l'Envie et le Regret, painted in the first years of world war II, Tytgat does not only give us insight in the new style he is developing, like the portrayed woman, he is also looking back. But does he do this with Envy and Regret?
The present lot is a good example of his style and manner of storytelling. The naive way of painting certainly helps creating a tension between the reality and the dream world of the artist; he is able to create a dialogue between the two.
Even though it is hard to understand the full meaning, the present painting introduces us into the world of Edgard Tytgat. There are several layers of interpretation of the painting. At a superficial level we see a composition with some of Tytgats beloved pictorial elements: a woman at a table in an interior, an opened window and a musician. Looking at the painting in this way immediately arouses questions. What is the woman doing alone in this room? What goes through her mind? Is she resting her head on her arms or is she covering her ears because she does not want to hear the music of the violin player? Why doesn't she want to hear the music, does it remind her of something?
For every question there seems to be another question. Although it is not possible to answer all of them, Tytgat leaves us an important clue: the two paintings on the wall behind the woman. These works, inscribed with the titles L'envie and Le regret, give the present painting its title. They are an obvious reference to two works that the artist painted in 1922 and 1923. These works, which have always been in the same collection (Dasnoy, 1965 cat. no. 119 and 131) were intended as pendants or part of a series. They have their own mystical and symbolical charge. Although the paintings have their own interpretation layers, the titles that Tytgat gave them, Envy and Regret, seem to give us insight in the state of mind of the portrayed woman.
It is the combination of these narrative elements that Tytgat applied, combined with his clear and simple style that gives the present composition its symbolical character. The fact that Tytgat re-uses these two earlier works almost 20 years later, is marking a turning point in Tytgats career. In the 1940's he developed a brighter colour palette and his technique became looser. In l'Envie et le Regret, painted in the first years of world war II, Tytgat does not only give us insight in the new style he is developing, like the portrayed woman, he is also looking back. But does he do this with Envy and Regret?