Lot Essay
Fauvism was the first real revolution in the development of twentieth- century art. Vlaminck, whom the poet Guillaume Apollinaire admiringly referred to as the "the wildest of the Fauves," was one of its leaders; the others were no less than Andr Derain and Henri Matisse. Matisse and Vlaminck were introduced by their mutual friend Derain at the large 1901 van Gogh exhibition, the first ever held in Paris. Together, Vlaminck, Derain and Matisse formed the nucleus of young artists of similar temperament who were given their own room at the infamous Salon des Indpendants of 1905. The Parisian art world was shocked by their new work with its impetuous application of color and wilfully distorted and simplified approach to form. As a result, the young painters were thereafter called "the wild beasts" (les fauves). The heightened colors and vigorous application of van Gogh-like brushwork cannot be overstated in relation to the works of these artists, but had a particularly catalytic effect on Vlaminck, a former professional bicycle racer who boasted of his own impudence and lack of discipline. Following van Gogh's example, Vlaminck abandoned subtlety and unhesitatingly used an exceedingly bright palette and a barely contained exuberance that were the hallmarks of Fauvism.
Vlaminck wrote after seeing the van Gogh exhibition at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in March 1901: "In him I found some of my own aspirations. Probably from similiar Nordic affinities? And, as well as a revolutionary fervor, an almost religious feeling for the interpretation of nature. I came out of this retrospective exhibition shaken to the core." On another occassion he said, "I loved van Gogh that day more than my own father." (J. Freeman, exh. cat., op. cit., Los Angeles, 1990, p. 21)
Vlaminck moved to Chatou in 1892 and remained there until 1901, whereupon he moved to Rueil, located just at the opposite end of the bridge over the Seine. Whereas relative financial security enabled Derain to rent a studio in Paris and Matisse to head to the Midi, Vlaminck stubbornly remained in the suburbs, having no wish to leave his beloved Chatou, to the landscape of which he was deeply attached (fig. 1). Vlaminck later recalled, "I had no other ambition than to discover with the help of new means those inner ties that linked me to the very soil" (quoted in J. Rewald, exh. cat., op. cit., New York, 1968, p. 2).
Painted in autumn 1905, the present work depicts a segment of the Pont de Chatou and a point along the bank of Chatou including the Restaurant Fournaise. The early morning sunlight and autumn foliage bounces from the surface of the Seine, the foreground built up from impetuous touches of green, white, red, amber and varying shades of blue. While looking back to classic Impressionist techniques (especially those of Manet and Monet), Vlaminck was also drawing upon lessons learned from studying the works of van Gogh and Czanne. Le Pont de Chatou boasts of an even greater sense of energy and its tonality is far more brilliant than any which his predeccesors had achieved. The adamantly aggressive brushwork enlivens the surface and underscores the joyful, yet almost brutish, color scheme.
As indicated by the present work, Vlaminck's paintings from this period, although stylistically radical, exude intimacy and convey a sense of harmony with the landscape. As a local resident painting familiar sites, he obviously loved the places he painted, with the affection of someone who is pleased to see the same places under old as well as new lights. "Whenever he recalled the motifs of the suburbs, he did so affectionately, and he reserved his most nostalgic expressions for Chatou and its familiar sights, sounds and routines" (J. Klein in ed. J. Freeman, exh. cat., op. cit., Los Angeles, 1990, p. 131).
Vlamincks' greatest predilection by far was for the Pont de Chatou. He painted it in all seasons and from all angles... he has made the river, the bridge, and the town shimmer vividly under mercurial skies. His point of view was from the island, just upriver from the bridge so that the structure presses in forcefully at the left, emphasizing its passage into the center of town [fig. 2]. In a slightly later canvas Vlaminck has shown the other segment of the Pont de Chatou, on the other side of the island, looking from a point on the bank next to the Restaurant Fournaise [fig. 3]. A lone fisherman at the edge of the water offsets a scooting sailboat. The massive piers of the bridge march into Rueil, where Vlaminck lived since 1901... He was looking outward from the center of his world.
In art and in life this bridge had very particular associations for Vlaminck. It was not just a point from which he could reconnoiter his painting territory. The bridge was as vital to him as it was to Chatou itself. He later recalled his early tutelage by the nave painter "Monsieur Henri Rigal of Chatou," whom Vlaminck visited every day at "his favorite haunt under the bridge," looking at the town. The two segments of the Pont de Chatou linked all the places that were important to Vlaminck. Over it he had passed from his dwellings in Chatou to the island and his studio, sanctuary within sanctuary. When he moved to Rueil on the left bank, the bridge continued to carry him from home to studio, and also now to Derain's home in Chatou. The bridge gave Vlaminck a sense of connectedness with the elements of his limited world. Only this allowed him to revel in his suburban isolation. (Ibid., pp. 133-134)
The present painting, characterized by its vibrant and richly worked surface, is a vivid representation of the artist's Fauve style. The brilliant and intense palette, dominated by primary colors, vigorous brushwork and textural paint surface, reflect the artist's admiration of van Gogh and assimilation of many of his stylistic principles. The thick, flurried and confident brushstrokes remain distinctly Vlaminck's own. Vlaminck has here created an image that does something van Gogh never quite achieved: it is simultaneously restful and agitating. Only the best works of the Fauves could achieve such a seemingly impossible feat.
(fig. 1) Maurice de Vlaminck, Maisons Chatou, circa 1905-1906, The Art Institute of Chicago
(fig. 2) View of Chatou, from the top of the bridge, circa 1900-1906
(fig. 3) Maurice de Vlaminck, Le Pont de Chatou, 1907
Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie, Berlin
Vlaminck wrote after seeing the van Gogh exhibition at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in March 1901: "In him I found some of my own aspirations. Probably from similiar Nordic affinities? And, as well as a revolutionary fervor, an almost religious feeling for the interpretation of nature. I came out of this retrospective exhibition shaken to the core." On another occassion he said, "I loved van Gogh that day more than my own father." (J. Freeman, exh. cat., op. cit., Los Angeles, 1990, p. 21)
Vlaminck moved to Chatou in 1892 and remained there until 1901, whereupon he moved to Rueil, located just at the opposite end of the bridge over the Seine. Whereas relative financial security enabled Derain to rent a studio in Paris and Matisse to head to the Midi, Vlaminck stubbornly remained in the suburbs, having no wish to leave his beloved Chatou, to the landscape of which he was deeply attached (fig. 1). Vlaminck later recalled, "I had no other ambition than to discover with the help of new means those inner ties that linked me to the very soil" (quoted in J. Rewald, exh. cat., op. cit., New York, 1968, p. 2).
Painted in autumn 1905, the present work depicts a segment of the Pont de Chatou and a point along the bank of Chatou including the Restaurant Fournaise. The early morning sunlight and autumn foliage bounces from the surface of the Seine, the foreground built up from impetuous touches of green, white, red, amber and varying shades of blue. While looking back to classic Impressionist techniques (especially those of Manet and Monet), Vlaminck was also drawing upon lessons learned from studying the works of van Gogh and Czanne. Le Pont de Chatou boasts of an even greater sense of energy and its tonality is far more brilliant than any which his predeccesors had achieved. The adamantly aggressive brushwork enlivens the surface and underscores the joyful, yet almost brutish, color scheme.
As indicated by the present work, Vlaminck's paintings from this period, although stylistically radical, exude intimacy and convey a sense of harmony with the landscape. As a local resident painting familiar sites, he obviously loved the places he painted, with the affection of someone who is pleased to see the same places under old as well as new lights. "Whenever he recalled the motifs of the suburbs, he did so affectionately, and he reserved his most nostalgic expressions for Chatou and its familiar sights, sounds and routines" (J. Klein in ed. J. Freeman, exh. cat., op. cit., Los Angeles, 1990, p. 131).
Vlamincks' greatest predilection by far was for the Pont de Chatou. He painted it in all seasons and from all angles... he has made the river, the bridge, and the town shimmer vividly under mercurial skies. His point of view was from the island, just upriver from the bridge so that the structure presses in forcefully at the left, emphasizing its passage into the center of town [fig. 2]. In a slightly later canvas Vlaminck has shown the other segment of the Pont de Chatou, on the other side of the island, looking from a point on the bank next to the Restaurant Fournaise [fig. 3]. A lone fisherman at the edge of the water offsets a scooting sailboat. The massive piers of the bridge march into Rueil, where Vlaminck lived since 1901... He was looking outward from the center of his world.
In art and in life this bridge had very particular associations for Vlaminck. It was not just a point from which he could reconnoiter his painting territory. The bridge was as vital to him as it was to Chatou itself. He later recalled his early tutelage by the nave painter "Monsieur Henri Rigal of Chatou," whom Vlaminck visited every day at "his favorite haunt under the bridge," looking at the town. The two segments of the Pont de Chatou linked all the places that were important to Vlaminck. Over it he had passed from his dwellings in Chatou to the island and his studio, sanctuary within sanctuary. When he moved to Rueil on the left bank, the bridge continued to carry him from home to studio, and also now to Derain's home in Chatou. The bridge gave Vlaminck a sense of connectedness with the elements of his limited world. Only this allowed him to revel in his suburban isolation. (Ibid., pp. 133-134)
The present painting, characterized by its vibrant and richly worked surface, is a vivid representation of the artist's Fauve style. The brilliant and intense palette, dominated by primary colors, vigorous brushwork and textural paint surface, reflect the artist's admiration of van Gogh and assimilation of many of his stylistic principles. The thick, flurried and confident brushstrokes remain distinctly Vlaminck's own. Vlaminck has here created an image that does something van Gogh never quite achieved: it is simultaneously restful and agitating. Only the best works of the Fauves could achieve such a seemingly impossible feat.
(fig. 1) Maurice de Vlaminck, Maisons Chatou, circa 1905-1906, The Art Institute of Chicago
(fig. 2) View of Chatou, from the top of the bridge, circa 1900-1906
(fig. 3) Maurice de Vlaminck, Le Pont de Chatou, 1907
Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie, Berlin