Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889-1962)
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's… Read more
Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889-1962)

La douce Flossie

Details
Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889-1962)
La douce Flossie
signed 'Jean Gabriel Domergue' (lower right); numbered and inscribed '113 La Douce Flossie' (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
24 x 19 5/8 in. (61 x 50 cm.)
Provenance
Anonymous sale, Dobiaschofsky Auktionen, Bern, 9 May 2003, lot 466.
Anonymous sale, Besch, Cannes, 15 August 2003, lot 271.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Special notice
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Lot Essay

Sold with a photo-certificate from Noé Willer.

Jean-Gabriel Domergue’s portraits of chic and lavishly adorned women epitomise the joie de vivre which permeated Paris after the First World War. A cousin of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and party with him to the discovery of the Moulin Rouge, Domergue’s sought-after portraits of the high society women of Paris reflect a world of sumptuousness and celebrity. The starstudded array of aristocratic clients who pursued his work included Nadine Rothschild, Princess Ruspoli and the Duchess of Ramont as well as the muses and artistic elite of the period.

With a painterly brush, Domergue defined new possibilities for female representation, depicting glamorous, modern, post-war femininity. He was deeply embedded in the fashion world where he designed dresses, millinery and accessories for couturiers Henry Margue and Paul Poiret and has been regarded as a significant leader in the creation of the image of the period.

Works in this section comprise a representative selection of the artist’s key subjects, displaying his favoured social occasions, such as the casino (see lot 139) and the races (see lot 141) where the requisite costuming of the period is elegantly flaunted. A group of eight gem-like portraits, formerly from the collection of Andrée L. Vuitton (see lots 142-149), exemplify his interest in fashion with each model displaying a different `look’ of the period, each with a slightly different character.

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