Manuel ORTIZ DE ZARATE (1886-1946) [CHILE] - Lot 25

Manuel ORTIZ DE ZARATE (1886-1946) [CHILE] Portrait of art dealer Paul Pétridès Oil on canvas. Signed upper left. No. 575 on the back of the canvas. 55 x 46 cm Paul Constantin Pétridès was born on August 18, 1901 in Paphos (Cyprus). He emigrated to France in 1920, and worked as a tailor until 1928. In 1925, he met Odette Luz Bosc (her maiden name), who was already a painter and picture broker. They married on January 15, 1929. Long fascinated by painting, he initially used his reputation as a tailor to meet artists and obtain works of art. In this way, he rubbed shoulders with Vlaminck, Van Dongen and above all Utrillo. He buys paintings in large quantities for taste and investment purposes. In 1935, his wife opened a gallery at 31 avenue Matignon. Between 1938 and 1939, he sold his tailor store to run his wife's gallery at 6 avenue Delcassé (Paris VIIIe). He signed an exclusive contract with Utrillo in 1937, which was renewed until the artist's death. Utrillo and Pétridès maintained a very close relationship since their meeting, and the painter even became godfather to Gilbert, the Pétridès couple's son. During the Occupation, Utrillo's business dealings with Germans and people close to the occupying forces proved suspicious, and after the Liberation he was fined heavily. After the war, he pursued his activity as an art dealer, promoting the École de Paris to an international clientele. Pétridès liked to be represented by "his painters", such as Kees van Dongen, Friesz, Utrillo or, as shown here, Ortiz de Zarate*. Chilean painter Ortiz de Zarate settled in Paris in 1906, in the Montparnasse district. His friends included Modigliani and Apollinaire. He soon adopted the cubist style, and was taken under contract by the art dealer Léonce Rosenberg, who specialized in it. Executed with an elegant brush at the end of the thirties, the portrait of Paul Pétridès is treated in the realistic style of the Ecole de Paris. *Text partially taken from AGHORA-INHA