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Lot Essay
The Association Utrillo has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Before becoming known as an artist in her own right, Valadon first posed as model for famous artists such as Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec and can be seen in some of their best-known compositions. Valadon learned painting by observing the artists in the milieu of Montmartre and progressively learned their technique. She is best known for still life compositions, nudes and landscapes, depicted in vibrant and bright colour, often using bold black lines to define the objects and figures. Suzanne Valadon was the first woman to be admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
In Nu assis sur un canapé, Valadon sensually articulates the contours and shape of the female body by using many different tones, from shades of pinks to yellows and greens, echoed in the vibrant, patterned rug upon which she is seated. Evident in this work is her familiarity with female sensuality and emotion, something she articulated in her own unique way, with a different approach to her male contemporaries.
With her rebellious and passionate personality, Suzanne Valadon was known to have had different affairs with many of her fellow artists for whom she modelled. At 18, she became pregnant with her son, Maurice Utrillo, the identity of whose father is still questioned today. Maurice, who later became a painter himself, took the name of Suzanne Valadon’s friend Miguel Utrillo who acknowledge his paternity when he was 8 years old. Throughout his life, he continued to sign his paintings with a “Maurice Utrillo V.” with the ‘V’ at the end standing for ‘Valadon’ as an homage to his mother.
Netter is a legendary name within the Montparnasse circle. With their roots in the east of France, the Netters, an industrial family, applied to their occupation as art patrons the same rigor for talent-spotting upon which their financial success was founded. This skill in selecting works for their collection allowed them to leave an indelible mark on the history of patronage within the period. This is particularly true of their pursuits during the interwar period, where their focus would be on the École de Paris, as testified by the remarkable exhibition held at the Pinacothèque de Paris in 2012. The Jonas Netter collection comprised an impressive selection of works, assembled by this enigmatic figure, whose name remained known only to a few close confidants. The exhibition unveiled several paintings never before seen by the public, such as works by André Derain, Moïse Kisling, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Maurice Utrillo, and Maurice de Vlaminck. Regrettably, history’s tribulations prevented the collection from staying intact. Fortunately, however, a few, including works by André Derain, Emile-Othon Friesz and Celso Lager were preserved by Jonas Netter’s heirs and are now presented here at Christie’s.
Before becoming known as an artist in her own right, Valadon first posed as model for famous artists such as Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec and can be seen in some of their best-known compositions. Valadon learned painting by observing the artists in the milieu of Montmartre and progressively learned their technique. She is best known for still life compositions, nudes and landscapes, depicted in vibrant and bright colour, often using bold black lines to define the objects and figures. Suzanne Valadon was the first woman to be admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
In Nu assis sur un canapé, Valadon sensually articulates the contours and shape of the female body by using many different tones, from shades of pinks to yellows and greens, echoed in the vibrant, patterned rug upon which she is seated. Evident in this work is her familiarity with female sensuality and emotion, something she articulated in her own unique way, with a different approach to her male contemporaries.
With her rebellious and passionate personality, Suzanne Valadon was known to have had different affairs with many of her fellow artists for whom she modelled. At 18, she became pregnant with her son, Maurice Utrillo, the identity of whose father is still questioned today. Maurice, who later became a painter himself, took the name of Suzanne Valadon’s friend Miguel Utrillo who acknowledge his paternity when he was 8 years old. Throughout his life, he continued to sign his paintings with a “Maurice Utrillo V.” with the ‘V’ at the end standing for ‘Valadon’ as an homage to his mother.
Netter is a legendary name within the Montparnasse circle. With their roots in the east of France, the Netters, an industrial family, applied to their occupation as art patrons the same rigor for talent-spotting upon which their financial success was founded. This skill in selecting works for their collection allowed them to leave an indelible mark on the history of patronage within the period. This is particularly true of their pursuits during the interwar period, where their focus would be on the École de Paris, as testified by the remarkable exhibition held at the Pinacothèque de Paris in 2012. The Jonas Netter collection comprised an impressive selection of works, assembled by this enigmatic figure, whose name remained known only to a few close confidants. The exhibition unveiled several paintings never before seen by the public, such as works by André Derain, Moïse Kisling, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Maurice Utrillo, and Maurice de Vlaminck. Regrettably, history’s tribulations prevented the collection from staying intact. Fortunately, however, a few, including works by André Derain, Emile-Othon Friesz and Celso Lager were preserved by Jonas Netter’s heirs and are now presented here at Christie’s.