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The graceful, the elegance and the beautiful, these are the prevalent qualities that characterize Bonnet's work. It is a constant yearning for the artist to portray people in their noblest form for eternity. The artist explained this preference for portraiture in a letter dated 1926: My work might also be interpreted as a unit, as a single portrayal of a race. It is a story. The story of a peasant-class, preserved in its classical state (in some regions, at least) and part of a people whose background spans the centuries. Still, one of these days that race will have vanished. So, considered from this viewpoint these hard facts are not portraits. They are the representatives of a race. (Ruud Spruit, Indonesian Impressions: Oriental Themes in Western Painting, Wijk en Aalburg, 1992, p. 20). Bonnet lived in Italy twice, both times for a couple of years. The first time he arrived in the village of Anticoli Corrado in 1920, he stayed until 1928. Following his stay in Anticoli, he moved to Bali and worked and lived there for approximately thirty years. During his second stay in Anticoli, between 1958 to 1963, he had developed himself as a fully grown artist and was respected as such by the locals. More depth entered his work, and as a non-catholic, he was given the honour of portraying the bishop of Tivoli. The influence of the Italian masters is evident in the works of Bonnet, manifesting in his accentuation of the grandeur and elegance of people. The present lot depicting people pressing wine in Anticoli is a fascinating work. Harmonious and strong, with many figures, all busy in the wine making process. Like his previous work, La Pista d'Uve is no exception to his decorative style. The almost impassive appearance, caused by the stylistic composition, brings tension between the style and subject, and this gives the painting a lovely, and perhaps unintended poetical charm.

Rudolf Bonnet (DUTCH, 1895-1978)

La Pista d'Uve

Details

Rudolf Bonnet (DUTCH, 1895-1978)
La Pista d'Uve
signed, dated and inscribed with title 'Anticoli 1962/R.Bonnet' (upper right), and signed again (on the stretcher)
tempera on canvas
147 x 125 cm

Literature

Willem Brandt, Het Goois Dagblad, March 1963 (ill.)

Exhibited

Laren, Casino Hamdorff, Rudolf Bonnet, Pum Niemeijer en H.J. Slijper, March 1963.

Special notice

Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

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