Henri MANGUIN (1874-1949) - Lot 21

Henri MANGUIN (1874-1949) Still life with pitcher, 1907 Oil on canvas. Signed lower left 27 x 35 cm Provenance -Gift from the artist to Félix Valotton, 1910 -Collection J. Rodrigues-Henriques, Paris, 1926 -Private collection, France. Bibliography: Catalog Raisonné de Manguin, M.C. Sainsaulieu and Lucile et Claude Manguin, Ed. Ides et Calendes, 1980, no. 259 (illustrated). Henri Manguin trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in Gustave Moreau's studio, where he made friends with Albert Marquet, Henri Matisse, Jean Puy and Georges Rouault. At first, his works were close to the Impressionist movement, and were soon exhibited at the Galerie Berthe Weil, the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne in 1905. At the latter, he was exhibited in the room described by Louis Vauxcelles as the "Cage aux Fauves". This label of Fauve painter was to remain with him for the rest of his life. Expression," said Matisse, "comes from the colored surface that the viewer grasps in its entirety. Henri Manguin traveled not only in the South of France, but also in Italy, and painted numerous landscapes in vibrant colors and tones. Apart from landscapes, Henri Manguin also painted a great deal of his wife, the artist's almost unique model. In addition to landscapes of Provence (Le Golfe de Saint-Tropez, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris), solidly constructed in successive planes, Manguin painted sumptuous still lifes and powerful nudes, opulent figures that convey the artist's élan. figures that convey the impetus of life, like these trees with their powerful branches. In 1909, he moved to Neuilly and took part in a group exhibition in Russia. He stays in Honfleur with Félix Vallotton, where he meets the Swiss collectors, the Hahnlosers. He spends summers in Sanary, where he often sees Henri Lebasque, and exhibits in Berlin. He lived in Lausanne during the First World War. In 1924, he took part in the project for the future Musée de l'Annonciade in Saint-Tropez. He exhibited at the Bing Gallery in 1927. Henri Manguin died at his home in l'Oustalet on September 25, 1949. The Salon organized a posthumous retrospective of his work in 1950. His work is characterized by the pure colors he uses, pushed to their maximum intensity and laid side by side without gradation. In 1950, the day after his death, an exhibition was devoted to him at the Salon des Indépendants. Henri Manguin exhibited five paintings at the Salon d'Automne in 1905, an event that marked the birth of Fauvism. birth of Fauvism. The following year, the art dealer Ambroise Vollard bought 150 paintings from him, which he took away in a carriage the same day. Manguin was also supported by the merchant Eugène Druet and numerous private collectors (Stein); his career was launched. In 1907, the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune acquired a collection of paintings and drawings. It was during a stay in Saint-Tropez in autumn 1904 that he befriended Paul Signac, leader of the leader of the Neo-Impressionists. While he did not adopt Divisionism, he did adopt Signac's high colors: he was also seduced by the light of the Midi, and Saint-Tropez became his home base. It was at this point that he found himself artistically and expressed himself most surely: The strong light of the Mediterranean, which structures his forms, also enabled him to understand the Cézanne synthesis, as it did for the whole generation. His development parallels that of his friends Marquet, Matisse and Jean Puy. "It's the exact hour of present happiness" wrote art critic Pierre Cabane of Manguin's paintings. Manguin's paintings. Our still life embodies both the arrested moment, the radiant joy of light and the sensuality of the moment. of light and the sensuality of the material. The earthen pitcher, the ripe fruit, the Provençal ceramics removed in fatty matter and vivid colors express the artist's inner joy. Manguin reveals himself here, in a modern manner and following in the footsteps of prestigious predecessors such as Chardin, as the poetic painter of silent life.