Raoul Dufy

RAOUL DUFY (Le Havre, 1877- near Forcalquier, 1953).
"Female portrait", ca. 1910.
Pencil on paper.
Signed lower right corner.
Presents two holes in the upper corners.
Measurements: 26.6 x 20.4 cm.

In this portrait, Raoul Dufy shows his ability to synthesize the human form without losing its essence. With great economy of lines, the artist creates a figure that is tangible and evocative. Her posture is calm, with her hands clasped in her lap, and the artist gives her an affable character by using a fluid and dynamic stroke.

Raoul Dufy was a fauvist and cubist painter, graphic artist and textile designer known for his colorful decorative style, which was highly 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 School of Fine Arts in Paris, where he met Georges Braque, and, two years later, he began to exhibit (Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris). In his career, he began with a style influenced by the impressionist landscape painters (especially Monet and Pissarro). In 1905, contemplating Henri Matisse's "Luxe, Calme et Volupté" at the Salon des Indépendants that year, he turned his work towards Fauvism, adding a vigorous stroke. Around 1909, contact with Paul Cézanne led him to a more subtle technique. In 1920, after having already done his trials with Cubism, he developed his personal approach to this current, with skeletal structures in a particular perspective, using baths of color with brushstrokes (in a way that was called "tachygraphic"). Thematically, his predilection for sailing ships, parties, 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.