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*La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing
1/2
Description
* SOUTINE, CHAÏM
(1893-1943)*La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing.
Oil on canvas, 57 by 41.5 cm.
Executed c. 1937.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Marcellin and Madeleine Castaing.
Collection of Madeleine Castaing.
Impressionist and Modern Art Day, Sotheby’s London, 20 June 2006, lot 340.
Important private collection, Europe.
Exhibited: L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Grand Palais, Paris, 8 February–5 March 1979.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster; Kunsthalle, Tübingen; Hayward Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Lucerne, 1981–1982.
Soutine, 1893–1943, Galleri Bellman, New York, 6 December 1983–28 January 1984.
C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Centre Culturel et Artistique, Montrouge, 1986.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Galleria Bergamini, Milan, March–April 1987.
Soutine, Musée de Chartres, Chartres, 29 June–30 October 1989, No. 69.
Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 1 April–30 May 2009.
Literature: M. Ochse, “Retour de Soutine”, Jardin des Arts, Paris, No. 218, May–June 1973, p. 9, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, J. Monneret (ed.), L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Paris, Société des artistes indépendants, 1979, p. 28, No. 19, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1982, No. 90, illustrated with incorrect orientation.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, 1893–1943, New York, Galleri Bellman, 1983, No. 19, illustrated with incorrect orientation and size.
Exhibition catalogue, C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Montrouge, Centre Culturel et Artistique, 1986, No. 27.
Exhibition catalogue, F. Porzio, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Milan, Galleria Bergamini, 1987, No. 15, illustrated and listed.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, Chartres, 1989, p. 303, illustrated; p. 302, No. 69, listed with the date 1940.
M. Tuchman, E. Dunow, K. Perls (eds), Chaim Soutine. Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, Benedikt Taschen, 1993, p. 760, listed; p. 763, illustrated.
Chaim Soutine. The Passion of Painting, Munich, Galerie Thomas, 2009, p. 134, illustrated and listed.
M. German, Khaim Sutin. 1893–1943, Moscow, Iskusstvo–XXI vek, 2009, p. 309, illustrated and mentioned in the text; p. 357, listed.
K. Carl, Chaim Soutine, London, Parkstone International, 2015, illustrated.
Chaïm Soutine’s La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing, now offered for auction, the portrait of a close friend, the collector and the artist’s patron, Madame Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992), is one of the artist’s most expressive portraits. It was painted in the second half of the 1930s, when the relationship between Soutine and his model — who was to become a wellknown bohemian antique dealer, interior designer and was, according to Picasso, “the most alluring” woman in Paris — was already so friendly and enduring that it did not presuppose the traditional official distance between the artist and his patron.
They first met in the 1920s, when a wealthy couple Madeleine and Marcellin Castaing — lovers of painting and passionate collectors, who had already a collection, which included works by Modigliani, Rouault, Picasso, Gris and Léger — saw some of Soutine’s works and began to track them down. The Castaings’ support, which remained with Soutine until his dying day, gradually brought them closer together, and after the death of Léopold Zborowski, the artist’s long-time dealer, Madeleine Castaing personally looked after Soutine’s affairs. From 1930 to 1935, the artist spent his summers at the Castaings’ home on their Lèves estate near Chartres. It was here that he painted his masterpieces Woman Entering the Water (1931; after Rembrandt’s Woman Bathing), Siesta (1934), Child in Blue and Chartres Cathedral (1934).
Madeleine Castaing posed repeatedly for Soutine both in his workshop near the Parc Montsouris and on her estate. Soutine trusted her implicitly, and she alone was allowed to observe his work in progress. As she once put it, “I am the only person he could bear when he was painting and even when he was pondering the idea for a picture. I was the only person whom he asked for advice about a model or subject.” It comes as no surprise that it is one of the portraits of Madeleine Castaing, dating from 1928 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), that marked the pinnacle of the artist’s portrait painting. She was later to recall: “I would often sit for him. I could not let slip a single unnecessary word or say anything that disturbed his thinking. A simple phrase might infuriate him. I remember his reaction when, without having the slightest wish to belittle his talent, my husband was trying to find some spiritual connection between one of his latest works and Renoir. Was Soutine aggrieved, or did he sense some affinity himself? But in his anger, he tore up his work anyway.”
The main feature of the artist’s interpretation of the image of Madeleine Castaing in this portrait is her almost grotesque appearance. Having dozed off while reading a book, she has let her head fall onto the cushioned edge of the couch, possibly in the blue sitting room at her Lèves estate, which was commandeered by the Nazis in 1940, and has pressed the book to her face on an unconscious impulse. We can see neither the female figure nor the couch as a whole, but only this strange viewing angle in a very narrow vertical section. The upward motion of the disproportionate arms and the pointed nose make the face of the sleeping woman resemble a frightened bird. A large nose, eyebrows raised in surprise, wide, red, half-parted lips and huge eyes covered by bulging eyelids stand out on her thin, highly expressive and temperamental face, seen in profile with taut, smooth cheekbones. Hidden drama and nervous tension are also encapsulated in the canvas’s colour scheme: they cry out from the striking juxtaposition of the intense dark-blue, white, pink and yellow colours.
The fair, straw-coloured turmoil of Madeleine’s hair, tossed back beyond the couch, is echoed by the yellowness of her left arm with its dark-blue ropelike veins. The deliberately distorted proportions of the vaguely delineated real-life features, the bright blotches on the face, the grimace of a troubled sleep and the actual angular nature of the composition give rise to a feeling of overabundant expressiveness. One can sense a poignancy and insecurity in the model. The spontaneity of execution, the outward passionate improvisation and the chromatic colouristic movement of the background, all augmented by the vividly expressed individuality of the lady’s appearance, make the portrait so memorable and significant.
La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing provides a clear illustration of why the art-loving Madeleine Castaing, who had an extravagant taste, her own inimitable style and artistic flair, particularly cherished the portraits of her that were painted by Soutine. It is precisely when looking at this canvas that one can appreciate the accuracy of Élie Faure’s judgment of the artist, when he spoke of his “supernatural expressiveness of visible life”.
(1893-1943)*La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing.
Oil on canvas, 57 by 41.5 cm.
Executed c. 1937.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Marcellin and Madeleine Castaing.
Collection of Madeleine Castaing.
Impressionist and Modern Art Day, Sotheby’s London, 20 June 2006, lot 340.
Important private collection, Europe.
Exhibited: L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Grand Palais, Paris, 8 February–5 March 1979.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster; Kunsthalle, Tübingen; Hayward Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Lucerne, 1981–1982.
Soutine, 1893–1943, Galleri Bellman, New York, 6 December 1983–28 January 1984.
C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Centre Culturel et Artistique, Montrouge, 1986.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Galleria Bergamini, Milan, March–April 1987.
Soutine, Musée de Chartres, Chartres, 29 June–30 October 1989, No. 69.
Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 1 April–30 May 2009.
Literature: M. Ochse, “Retour de Soutine”, Jardin des Arts, Paris, No. 218, May–June 1973, p. 9, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, J. Monneret (ed.), L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Paris, Société des artistes indépendants, 1979, p. 28, No. 19, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1982, No. 90, illustrated with incorrect orientation.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, 1893–1943, New York, Galleri Bellman, 1983, No. 19, illustrated with incorrect orientation and size.
Exhibition catalogue, C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Montrouge, Centre Culturel et Artistique, 1986, No. 27.
Exhibition catalogue, F. Porzio, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Milan, Galleria Bergamini, 1987, No. 15, illustrated and listed.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, Chartres, 1989, p. 303, illustrated; p. 302, No. 69, listed with the date 1940.
M. Tuchman, E. Dunow, K. Perls (eds), Chaim Soutine. Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, Benedikt Taschen, 1993, p. 760, listed; p. 763, illustrated.
Chaim Soutine. The Passion of Painting, Munich, Galerie Thomas, 2009, p. 134, illustrated and listed.
M. German, Khaim Sutin. 1893–1943, Moscow, Iskusstvo–XXI vek, 2009, p. 309, illustrated and mentioned in the text; p. 357, listed.
K. Carl, Chaim Soutine, London, Parkstone International, 2015, illustrated.
Chaïm Soutine’s La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing, now offered for auction, the portrait of a close friend, the collector and the artist’s patron, Madame Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992), is one of the artist’s most expressive portraits. It was painted in the second half of the 1930s, when the relationship between Soutine and his model — who was to become a wellknown bohemian antique dealer, interior designer and was, according to Picasso, “the most alluring” woman in Paris — was already so friendly and enduring that it did not presuppose the traditional official distance between the artist and his patron.
They first met in the 1920s, when a wealthy couple Madeleine and Marcellin Castaing — lovers of painting and passionate collectors, who had already a collection, which included works by Modigliani, Rouault, Picasso, Gris and Léger — saw some of Soutine’s works and began to track them down. The Castaings’ support, which remained with Soutine until his dying day, gradually brought them closer together, and after the death of Léopold Zborowski, the artist’s long-time dealer, Madeleine Castaing personally looked after Soutine’s affairs. From 1930 to 1935, the artist spent his summers at the Castaings’ home on their Lèves estate near Chartres. It was here that he painted his masterpieces Woman Entering the Water (1931; after Rembrandt’s Woman Bathing), Siesta (1934), Child in Blue and Chartres Cathedral (1934).
Madeleine Castaing posed repeatedly for Soutine both in his workshop near the Parc Montsouris and on her estate. Soutine trusted her implicitly, and she alone was allowed to observe his work in progress. As she once put it, “I am the only person he could bear when he was painting and even when he was pondering the idea for a picture. I was the only person whom he asked for advice about a model or subject.” It comes as no surprise that it is one of the portraits of Madeleine Castaing, dating from 1928 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), that marked the pinnacle of the artist’s portrait painting. She was later to recall: “I would often sit for him. I could not let slip a single unnecessary word or say anything that disturbed his thinking. A simple phrase might infuriate him. I remember his reaction when, without having the slightest wish to belittle his talent, my husband was trying to find some spiritual connection between one of his latest works and Renoir. Was Soutine aggrieved, or did he sense some affinity himself? But in his anger, he tore up his work anyway.”
The main feature of the artist’s interpretation of the image of Madeleine Castaing in this portrait is her almost grotesque appearance. Having dozed off while reading a book, she has let her head fall onto the cushioned edge of the couch, possibly in the blue sitting room at her Lèves estate, which was commandeered by the Nazis in 1940, and has pressed the book to her face on an unconscious impulse. We can see neither the female figure nor the couch as a whole, but only this strange viewing angle in a very narrow vertical section. The upward motion of the disproportionate arms and the pointed nose make the face of the sleeping woman resemble a frightened bird. A large nose, eyebrows raised in surprise, wide, red, half-parted lips and huge eyes covered by bulging eyelids stand out on her thin, highly expressive and temperamental face, seen in profile with taut, smooth cheekbones. Hidden drama and nervous tension are also encapsulated in the canvas’s colour scheme: they cry out from the striking juxtaposition of the intense dark-blue, white, pink and yellow colours.
The fair, straw-coloured turmoil of Madeleine’s hair, tossed back beyond the couch, is echoed by the yellowness of her left arm with its dark-blue ropelike veins. The deliberately distorted proportions of the vaguely delineated real-life features, the bright blotches on the face, the grimace of a troubled sleep and the actual angular nature of the composition give rise to a feeling of overabundant expressiveness. One can sense a poignancy and insecurity in the model. The spontaneity of execution, the outward passionate improvisation and the chromatic colouristic movement of the background, all augmented by the vividly expressed individuality of the lady’s appearance, make the portrait so memorable and significant.
La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing provides a clear illustration of why the art-loving Madeleine Castaing, who had an extravagant taste, her own inimitable style and artistic flair, particularly cherished the portraits of her that were painted by Soutine. It is precisely when looking at this canvas that one can appreciate the accuracy of Élie Faure’s judgment of the artist, when he spoke of his “supernatural expressiveness of visible life”.
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* SOUTINE, CHAÏM
(1893-1943)*La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing.
Oil on canvas, 57 by 41.5 cm.
Executed c. 1937.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Marcellin and Madeleine Castaing.
Collection of Madeleine Castaing.
Impressionist and Modern Art Day, Sotheby’s London, 20 June 2006, lot 340.
Important private collection, Europe.
Exhibited: L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Grand Palais, Paris, 8 February–5 March 1979.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster; Kunsthalle, Tübingen; Hayward Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Lucerne, 1981–1982.
Soutine, 1893–1943, Galleri Bellman, New York, 6 December 1983–28 January 1984.
C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Centre Culturel et Artistique, Montrouge, 1986.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Galleria Bergamini, Milan, March–April 1987.
Soutine, Musée de Chartres, Chartres, 29 June–30 October 1989, No. 69.
Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 1 April–30 May 2009.
Literature: M. Ochse, “Retour de Soutine”, Jardin des Arts, Paris, No. 218, May–June 1973, p. 9, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, J. Monneret (ed.), L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Paris, Société des artistes indépendants, 1979, p. 28, No. 19, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1982, No. 90, illustrated with incorrect orientation.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, 1893–1943, New York, Galleri Bellman, 1983, No. 19, illustrated with incorrect orientation and size.
Exhibition catalogue, C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Montrouge, Centre Culturel et Artistique, 1986, No. 27.
Exhibition catalogue, F. Porzio, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Milan, Galleria Bergamini, 1987, No. 15, illustrated and listed.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, Chartres, 1989, p. 303, illustrated; p. 302, No. 69, listed with the date 1940.
M. Tuchman, E. Dunow, K. Perls (eds), Chaim Soutine. Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, Benedikt Taschen, 1993, p. 760, listed; p. 763, illustrated.
Chaim Soutine. The Passion of Painting, Munich, Galerie Thomas, 2009, p. 134, illustrated and listed.
M. German, Khaim Sutin. 1893–1943, Moscow, Iskusstvo–XXI vek, 2009, p. 309, illustrated and mentioned in the text; p. 357, listed.
K. Carl, Chaim Soutine, London, Parkstone International, 2015, illustrated.
Chaïm Soutine’s La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing, now offered for auction, the portrait of a close friend, the collector and the artist’s patron, Madame Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992), is one of the artist’s most expressive portraits. It was painted in the second half of the 1930s, when the relationship between Soutine and his model — who was to become a wellknown bohemian antique dealer, interior designer and was, according to Picasso, “the most alluring” woman in Paris — was already so friendly and enduring that it did not presuppose the traditional official distance between the artist and his patron.
They first met in the 1920s, when a wealthy couple Madeleine and Marcellin Castaing — lovers of painting and passionate collectors, who had already a collection, which included works by Modigliani, Rouault, Picasso, Gris and Léger — saw some of Soutine’s works and began to track them down. The Castaings’ support, which remained with Soutine until his dying day, gradually brought them closer together, and after the death of Léopold Zborowski, the artist’s long-time dealer, Madeleine Castaing personally looked after Soutine’s affairs. From 1930 to 1935, the artist spent his summers at the Castaings’ home on their Lèves estate near Chartres. It was here that he painted his masterpieces Woman Entering the Water (1931; after Rembrandt’s Woman Bathing), Siesta (1934), Child in Blue and Chartres Cathedral (1934).
Madeleine Castaing posed repeatedly for Soutine both in his workshop near the Parc Montsouris and on her estate. Soutine trusted her implicitly, and she alone was allowed to observe his work in progress. As she once put it, “I am the only person he could bear when he was painting and even when he was pondering the idea for a picture. I was the only person whom he asked for advice about a model or subject.” It comes as no surprise that it is one of the portraits of Madeleine Castaing, dating from 1928 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), that marked the pinnacle of the artist’s portrait painting. She was later to recall: “I would often sit for him. I could not let slip a single unnecessary word or say anything that disturbed his thinking. A simple phrase might infuriate him. I remember his reaction when, without having the slightest wish to belittle his talent, my husband was trying to find some spiritual connection between one of his latest works and Renoir. Was Soutine aggrieved, or did he sense some affinity himself? But in his anger, he tore up his work anyway.”
The main feature of the artist’s interpretation of the image of Madeleine Castaing in this portrait is her almost grotesque appearance. Having dozed off while reading a book, she has let her head fall onto the cushioned edge of the couch, possibly in the blue sitting room at her Lèves estate, which was commandeered by the Nazis in 1940, and has pressed the book to her face on an unconscious impulse. We can see neither the female figure nor the couch as a whole, but only this strange viewing angle in a very narrow vertical section. The upward motion of the disproportionate arms and the pointed nose make the face of the sleeping woman resemble a frightened bird. A large nose, eyebrows raised in surprise, wide, red, half-parted lips and huge eyes covered by bulging eyelids stand out on her thin, highly expressive and temperamental face, seen in profile with taut, smooth cheekbones. Hidden drama and nervous tension are also encapsulated in the canvas’s colour scheme: they cry out from the striking juxtaposition of the intense dark-blue, white, pink and yellow colours.
The fair, straw-coloured turmoil of Madeleine’s hair, tossed back beyond the couch, is echoed by the yellowness of her left arm with its dark-blue ropelike veins. The deliberately distorted proportions of the vaguely delineated real-life features, the bright blotches on the face, the grimace of a troubled sleep and the actual angular nature of the composition give rise to a feeling of overabundant expressiveness. One can sense a poignancy and insecurity in the model. The spontaneity of execution, the outward passionate improvisation and the chromatic colouristic movement of the background, all augmented by the vividly expressed individuality of the lady’s appearance, make the portrait so memorable and significant.
La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing provides a clear illustration of why the art-loving Madeleine Castaing, who had an extravagant taste, her own inimitable style and artistic flair, particularly cherished the portraits of her that were painted by Soutine. It is precisely when looking at this canvas that one can appreciate the accuracy of Élie Faure’s judgment of the artist, when he spoke of his “supernatural expressiveness of visible life”.
(1893-1943)*La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing.
Oil on canvas, 57 by 41.5 cm.
Executed c. 1937.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Marcellin and Madeleine Castaing.
Collection of Madeleine Castaing.
Impressionist and Modern Art Day, Sotheby’s London, 20 June 2006, lot 340.
Important private collection, Europe.
Exhibited: L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Grand Palais, Paris, 8 February–5 March 1979.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster; Kunsthalle, Tübingen; Hayward Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Lucerne, 1981–1982.
Soutine, 1893–1943, Galleri Bellman, New York, 6 December 1983–28 January 1984.
C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Centre Culturel et Artistique, Montrouge, 1986.
Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Galleria Bergamini, Milan, March–April 1987.
Soutine, Musée de Chartres, Chartres, 29 June–30 October 1989, No. 69.
Chaim Soutine, Galerie Thomas, Munich, 1 April–30 May 2009.
Literature: M. Ochse, “Retour de Soutine”, Jardin des Arts, Paris, No. 218, May–June 1973, p. 9, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, J. Monneret (ed.), L’Or des années folles, 1918–1930, Paris, Société des artistes indépendants, 1979, p. 28, No. 19, illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943, London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1982, No. 90, illustrated with incorrect orientation.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, 1893–1943, New York, Galleri Bellman, 1983, No. 19, illustrated with incorrect orientation and size.
Exhibition catalogue, C. Soutine, XXXIe Salon de Montrouge. Art contemporain, peinture, sculpture, dessin, Montrouge, Centre Culturel et Artistique, 1986, No. 27.
Exhibition catalogue, F. Porzio, Chaim Soutine, 1893–1943. I dipinti della collezione Castaing, Milan, Galleria Bergamini, 1987, No. 15, illustrated and listed.
Exhibition catalogue, Soutine, Chartres, 1989, p. 303, illustrated; p. 302, No. 69, listed with the date 1940.
M. Tuchman, E. Dunow, K. Perls (eds), Chaim Soutine. Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, Benedikt Taschen, 1993, p. 760, listed; p. 763, illustrated.
Chaim Soutine. The Passion of Painting, Munich, Galerie Thomas, 2009, p. 134, illustrated and listed.
M. German, Khaim Sutin. 1893–1943, Moscow, Iskusstvo–XXI vek, 2009, p. 309, illustrated and mentioned in the text; p. 357, listed.
K. Carl, Chaim Soutine, London, Parkstone International, 2015, illustrated.
Chaïm Soutine’s La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing, now offered for auction, the portrait of a close friend, the collector and the artist’s patron, Madame Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992), is one of the artist’s most expressive portraits. It was painted in the second half of the 1930s, when the relationship between Soutine and his model — who was to become a wellknown bohemian antique dealer, interior designer and was, according to Picasso, “the most alluring” woman in Paris — was already so friendly and enduring that it did not presuppose the traditional official distance between the artist and his patron.
They first met in the 1920s, when a wealthy couple Madeleine and Marcellin Castaing — lovers of painting and passionate collectors, who had already a collection, which included works by Modigliani, Rouault, Picasso, Gris and Léger — saw some of Soutine’s works and began to track them down. The Castaings’ support, which remained with Soutine until his dying day, gradually brought them closer together, and after the death of Léopold Zborowski, the artist’s long-time dealer, Madeleine Castaing personally looked after Soutine’s affairs. From 1930 to 1935, the artist spent his summers at the Castaings’ home on their Lèves estate near Chartres. It was here that he painted his masterpieces Woman Entering the Water (1931; after Rembrandt’s Woman Bathing), Siesta (1934), Child in Blue and Chartres Cathedral (1934).
Madeleine Castaing posed repeatedly for Soutine both in his workshop near the Parc Montsouris and on her estate. Soutine trusted her implicitly, and she alone was allowed to observe his work in progress. As she once put it, “I am the only person he could bear when he was painting and even when he was pondering the idea for a picture. I was the only person whom he asked for advice about a model or subject.” It comes as no surprise that it is one of the portraits of Madeleine Castaing, dating from 1928 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), that marked the pinnacle of the artist’s portrait painting. She was later to recall: “I would often sit for him. I could not let slip a single unnecessary word or say anything that disturbed his thinking. A simple phrase might infuriate him. I remember his reaction when, without having the slightest wish to belittle his talent, my husband was trying to find some spiritual connection between one of his latest works and Renoir. Was Soutine aggrieved, or did he sense some affinity himself? But in his anger, he tore up his work anyway.”
The main feature of the artist’s interpretation of the image of Madeleine Castaing in this portrait is her almost grotesque appearance. Having dozed off while reading a book, she has let her head fall onto the cushioned edge of the couch, possibly in the blue sitting room at her Lèves estate, which was commandeered by the Nazis in 1940, and has pressed the book to her face on an unconscious impulse. We can see neither the female figure nor the couch as a whole, but only this strange viewing angle in a very narrow vertical section. The upward motion of the disproportionate arms and the pointed nose make the face of the sleeping woman resemble a frightened bird. A large nose, eyebrows raised in surprise, wide, red, half-parted lips and huge eyes covered by bulging eyelids stand out on her thin, highly expressive and temperamental face, seen in profile with taut, smooth cheekbones. Hidden drama and nervous tension are also encapsulated in the canvas’s colour scheme: they cry out from the striking juxtaposition of the intense dark-blue, white, pink and yellow colours.
The fair, straw-coloured turmoil of Madeleine’s hair, tossed back beyond the couch, is echoed by the yellowness of her left arm with its dark-blue ropelike veins. The deliberately distorted proportions of the vaguely delineated real-life features, the bright blotches on the face, the grimace of a troubled sleep and the actual angular nature of the composition give rise to a feeling of overabundant expressiveness. One can sense a poignancy and insecurity in the model. The spontaneity of execution, the outward passionate improvisation and the chromatic colouristic movement of the background, all augmented by the vividly expressed individuality of the lady’s appearance, make the portrait so memorable and significant.
La liseuse endormie, Madeleine Castaing provides a clear illustration of why the art-loving Madeleine Castaing, who had an extravagant taste, her own inimitable style and artistic flair, particularly cherished the portraits of her that were painted by Soutine. It is precisely when looking at this canvas that one can appreciate the accuracy of Élie Faure’s judgment of the artist, when he spoke of his “supernatural expressiveness of visible life”.
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VAT
4. Lots are normally sold under the UK Auctioneers Margin Scheme. Input tax deduction has not been and will not be claimed in respect of such lots. The charge for the buyer’s premium will include VAT on the charges described above, which will not be shown separately and may not be reclaimed as input tax.
5. Items marked with an asterisk (*) have been imported from outside the EU. 5% will be added to the hammer price to cover Import VAT. EU VAT registered buyers should note that neither this 5% nor the VAT on the buyer’s premium can be refunded or claimed against VAT.
6. Buyers from outside the EU who intend to ship their purchases outside the EU within three months should tell MacDougall Arts Ltd. at time of payment. For them, the VAT charge included in the premium (and the 5% charge on asterisked lots) will be treated as a deposit, refundable on presentation of documentary proof of export outside the EU within three months.
Droit de suite (Artist’s resale right)
7.1. Some works will be subject to Droit de Suite (Artist’s Resale Right), and will be indicated with a “§” mark in the catalogue or otherwise notified. This is a royalty payable to a qualifying artist (citizens of EU and EEA countries) each time a work is re-sold during the artist’s lifetime and to their descendants for 70 years after the artist’s death.
7.2. Buyers will be charged an amount equal to this resale royalty where it applies. These resale royalties are not subject to VAT and do not apply when the hammer price is less than 1,000 euros. Invoices are normally issued in Pounds Sterling, with the resale royalty calculated on the basis of the European Central Bank reference rate on the date of the sale.
7.3. Droit de Suite Scale
|
Charge |
Portion of the Hammer Price (in Euros) |
|
4% |
Up to 50,000 |
|
3% |
50,001–200,000 |
|
1% |
200,001–350,000 |
|
½% |
350,001–500,000 |
|
¼% |
Over 500,000 |
|
|
To a maximum of 12,500 euros |
Guaranteed Property
8. A minimum price has been guaranteed to the seller for lots marked with the symbol “°”. This guarantee may be provided by MacDougall’s, by a third party or jointly by MacDougall’s and a third party. Third parties providing all or part of a guarantee benefit financially if a guaranteed lot is sold successfully and may incur a loss if the sale is not successful.
Bidding
9. Bidding at an auction is regulated at the sole discretion of the Auctioneer, who reserves the right to reject any bid.
10. In the case of lots upon which the vendor has placed a reserve, the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the vendor, but no higher than the reserve. MacDougall Arts Ltd., its Directors, its staff, or its consultants may own or have a beneficial interest in a lot being sold. All lots are offered subject to a Reserve Price agreed in writing with the vendor; it shall be no higher than the low estimate of the hammer price. MacDougall’s have absolute discretion to refuse admission to the auction.
11. If instructed, MacDougall’s will execute bids for prospective buyers. This service is free. Lots will always be purchased as cheaply as is allowed by such other bids and reserves as are on the Auctioneer’s books. In the event of identical bids, the earliest will take precedence. There must always be a maximum limit indicated, i.e. the amount to which the buyer would bid if attending the auction in person. «Buy» or unlimited bids will not be accepted. Commission bids placed by telephone are accepted at the client’s risk. All written telephone and commission bidding requests should be completed by twenty-four hours before the sale. MacDougall Arts Ltd. does not accept any liability if for any reason you do not receive a phone call during the sale and is not responsible for inadvertently failing to execute bids or for errors relating to execution of bids, including computer-related errors. MacDougall’s executes absentee bids as a convenience for clients and will try to purchase these lots for the lowest possible price, considering the reserve and other bids. If identical absentee bids are left, MacDougall’s will give precedence to the first one received.
12. Notwithstanding clause 14, the buyer and the vendor shall enter into the contract for the buyer to buy and the vendor to sell the lot in question upon the fall of the Auctioneer’s hammer.
13. Lots purchased online may attract an additional charge for this service in the sum of 3% of the hammer price plus VAT, if any, at the rate imposed.
Identification and Payment
14. The buyers shall forthwith supply their name and address, their bank details and other suitable references considered necessary by MacDougall’s, acting reasonably. Bidders act as principal unless they have prior written consent from MacDougall’s to bid as agent for another party. Bidders are personally liable for their bid and are jointly and severally liable with their principal if bidding as agent.
15. Legal title to a lot shall not pass to the buyer until MacDougall’s receive the full purchase price for the lot in cleared funds.
16. Unless MacDougall’s agree with the buyer otherwise:
(a) the lot must be paid for in full within twenty-one days of sale; and
(b) the buyer must remove the lot in question, at their expense, within 30 calendar days following sale.
17. MacDougall’s are not obliged to release a lot to a buyer until title to that lot has passed, but any earlier release will not affect the passing of title.
18. To the extent an export licence is required in order to remove a lot from the United Kingdom, the buyer alone is responsible for obtaining and paying for such a licence.
19. If a buyer fails to pay for or remove a lot in accordance with clauses 13 to 17 above, MacDougall’s shall be entitled at their absolute discretion to exercise one or more of the following rights, unless agreed otherwise with the buyer.
(a) To rescind the contract in respect of that lot.
(b) To store the lot or cause it to be stored at their own premises or warehouses elsewhere at the sole expense and risk of the buyer, and to release the lot only after payment in full of the purchase price, accrued storage and haulage charges and all other costs incurred by MacDougall’s in connection with the lot.
(c) To charge interest and storage charges. Interest is charged at 10% per annum, and storage charges at 50 pounds per lot per week. However, these charges will be waived if payment is received by the 21 day contractual deadline and the purchases are collected within four months.
(d) With seven day’s notice to the buyer to resell the lot or cause it to be resold by public or private sale. Any deficiency in the purchase price attending such resale (after giving credit for any payment and after deducting full costs incurred in connection with the lot) to be made good by the defaulting buyer, any surplus (after retention by MacDougall’s of the premium) to be paid to the vendor.
(e) Commence legal proceedings on behalf of the vendor to recover the purchase price and other expenses for that lot.
(f) Release the name and address of the buyer to the vendor to enable the vendor to commence the legal proceedings against the buyer.
(g) MacDougall’s shall in all circumstances be entitled to exercise a lien against any property belonging to the buyer or where the buyer has acted as an agent to any property belonging to the buyer’s principal which is in the possession of or in the control of MacDougall’s in respect of any debt howsoever arising owed by the buyer (or the buyer’s principal) to MacDougall’s notwithstanding that the value of the property exceeds the amount owed to MacDougall’s.
(h) MacDougall’s may set off any sums owed by a buyer or its principal against any money owed by MacDougall’s to the buyer or its principal not withstanding that MacDougall’s may have in their possession or under their control property belonging to the buyer or its principal.
(i) MacDougall’s are entitled at their absolute discretion to apportion any monies received by or on behalf of the buyer against any sums owed by the buyer or its principal by or on behalf of the buyer against any sums owed by the buyer or its principal to MacDougall’s.
(j) Where lots are not removed in accordance with clause 17 above, whether or not payment has been made, MacDougall’s shall be permitted to remove the lot to a third party warehouse at the buyer's expense, and only release the items after payment in full has been made of removal, storage, handling, and any other costs reasonably incurred, together with payment of all other amounts due to us.
(k) To debit the bank account of the buyer, on the basis of the debit or credit card details provided by the buyer to MacDougall’s prior to the auction in question, in part or full payment of the outstanding purchase price and any other outstanding fees.
Catalogue Descriptions
20. MacDougall’s reserve the right to withdraw, consolidate, divide or alter any lot or combine any two or more lots.
21. All statements in the catalogues, advertisements or brochures of forthcoming sales are statements of opinion only. Illustrations in the catalogues, advertisements or brochures of forthcoming sales may not necessarily reveal imperfections in any lot. The exact physical description of any lot and the extent of any defect, restoration or repair to any lot should be ascertained by intending buyers through inspection. Each buyer by making a bid for a lot acknowledges that he has satisfied himself fully before bidding by inspection or otherwise as to all the sale conditions the physical condition of and description of the lot including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored.
22. MacDougall’s reserve the full and absolute right to illustrate and photograph any lot placed in its hands for sale, and to use these photographs and illustrations at any time at its absolute discretion (whether or not in connection with the auction).
Guarantee
23. Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within one year after the sale the buyer of any lot gives notice in writing to the Auctioneer that in his view the lot is a counterfeit (i.e. an imitation created to deceive as to authorship, origin, date, or age); and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the lot to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of sale and free of third party claims; and by producing evidence, with the burden of proof to be upon the buyer, satisfies MacDougall Arts Ltd. that the lot is a counterfeit, not reflected by the description in the catalogue; then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. No lot shall be considered a counterfeit by reason only of any damage and/or restoration and/or modification work of any kind including repainting or over-painting. This limited right of refund lies with the original buyer only and is not transferable to third parties.
Data Protection
24. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, vendors, bidders, and buyers agree to the storage and processing of their personal information by the Auctioneer. The data may be stored in countries which do not offer equivalent protection of personal information to that offered in the EU. The Auction may be subject to video and audio recording by the Auctioneer. The Data Controller is MacDougall Arts Ltd.
Governing Law
25. These Terms and Conditions of Sale and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including any question regarding their existence, validity, termination or breach thereof) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England.
Jurisdiction
26. Subject to clause 27 below, each party to these Terms and Conditions of Sale irrevocably agrees that the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions of Sale or their subject matter or formation (including any question regarding their existence, validity, termination or breach thereof).
27. Notwithstanding what is said in clause 26:
(a) At the sole option of MacDougall’s, any controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions of Sale, or their subject matter or formation (including any question regarding their existence, validity, termination or breach thereof), shall be settled by arbitration administered by the London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”) under the LCIA Rules, which Rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this clause.
(b) The number of arbitrators shall be one.
(c) The seat, or legal place, shall be London, United Kingdom.
(d) The language to be used in the arbitral proceeding shall be English.
(e) If a court action has been initiated by a party other than MacDougall’s by reference to clause 26 of these Terms and Conditions of Sale at the time that MacDougall chooses to submit the matter to arbitration, then it is agreed that such court action is to be discontinued, unless the arbitrator finds that MacDougall’s has waived such right by substantially participating in the court action without having raised its right under this clause.
Translations of these Terms and Conditions of Sale
28. Where a translation of these Terms and Conditions of Sale has been provided, it is agreed that the English language version shall prevail if there is a conflict.
Severability
29. If any provision or part-provision of these Terms and Conditions of Sale is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part-provision shall be deemed deleted. Any modification to or deletion of a provision or part-provision under this clause shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of these Terms and Conditions of Sale.
Payment methods:
For payments by wire transfer, please direct payment in UK Pounds Sterling (with all charges to be paid by sender, and include a reference to the lot number) to:
MacDougall Arts Ltd. Client Trust Account No. 73662942, Sort Code 40-07-13; SWIFT/BIC: HBUKGB4110D, IBAN: GB30HBUK40071373662942; Address: HSBC Bank plc, The Peak, 333 Vauxhall Bridge, London SW1V 1EJ.
Other payment methods:
Payments by Debit or Credit or card are accepted up to 25,000 pounds and are free of charge. Personal UK cheque payments will have to clear before delivery of purchases. Banker’s drafts and cash within certain limits may be accepted by arrangement.
