RAOUL DUFY (Le Havre, 1877 - near Forcalquier, 1953).
"Landscape of Sicily", 1922.
Watercolour and gouache on paper.
Work reproduced in the Catalogue raisonné of the artist Aquarelles et gouaches-Supplémet, No. As-0402.
Work exhibited at the Galerie Yhoshii (Paris).
Signed in pencil in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 50.5 x 64.5 cm; 83.5 x 99 cm (frame).
The consequences of the First World War and the subsequent interwar period meant a halt in the development of the avant-garde and a return to classicism. In Dufy's case, his unmistakable fluid and colourful aesthetic remained his personal hallmark. However, he undertook a trip to Italy, where he found inspiration in the Mediterranean landscape and the remains of ancient civilisations. The present work belongs to the aforementioned period and depicts a view of Sicily conceived in great depth, which the artist achieves by delimiting the sides through a reduced chromatic tone, while in the central area he deploys a whole play of intense, brilliant colours that make up the landscape. This type of composition was common during his trip to Italy and can be seen in other works by the artist such as "View of the Theatre at Taormina" and in the painting in the MoMA's collection, a watercolour dated the same year as the present work, which shows a view of Taormina, also on the island of Sicily.
Raoul Dufy was a Fauvist and Cubist painter, graphic artist and textile designer known for his highly colourful decorative style, which was much appreciated for ceramics, textiles and architectural decorations. In 1895 he began attending art classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre, studying the work of Eugène Boudin at the city's museum. In 1900 a scholarship allowed him a short training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he met Georges Braque, and, two years later, he began to exhibit (Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris). He began his career with a style influenced by the Impressionist landscape painters (especially Monet and Pissarro). In 1905, on seeing Henri Matisse's "Luxe, Calme et Volupté" at the Salon des Indépendants that year, he turned his work towards Fauvism, adding a vigorous stroke. Towards 1909, contact with Paul Cézanne led him to a more subtle technique. In 1920, after having already experimented with Cubism, he developed his personal approach to this trend, with skeletal structures in a particular perspective, using baths of colour with brushstrokes (in a manner he called "tachygraphic"). Thematically, his predilection for sailing boats, festivals, musical events, horse racing, outdoor activities, flowers, musical instruments and nudes is clear. His work is preserved in important private collections and museums such as the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Van Abbemuseum, the McNay Art Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, etc.