Haynes Fine Art Haynes Fine Art Est 1971

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Artists Biography

Raoul Dufy

French 1877-1923
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Raoul Dufy received an academic training at the School of Fine Arts in Le Havre, then at the School of Fine Arts in Paris. He was initially influenced by the impressionists, especially Eugène Boudin, also from Le Havre. From 1904-1905, fascinated by Matisse’s painting Luxe, calme et volupté, Dufy turned to fauvism. This was the period of Vieilles maisons sur le bassin de Honfleur (Old houses on Honfleur dock) and Nu rose au fauteuil vert ou Claudine de dos (Pink nude on a green chair or Rear view of Claudine) (1906). From fauvism, Raoul Dufy retained a search for simplicity, the refining of the subject and dazzling colours. From 1907 he was then inspired by Cézanne. He left for L'Estaque with George Braque to try and gain an understanding of the painter’s work. Under the influence of cubism, he painted Barques à Martigues (Boats in Martigues) and Bateaux à quai dans le port de Marseille (Boats moored in the port of Marseille) (1908). In 1913, the painting Le Jardin abandonné (The abandoned garden) contained the early signs of what made Dufy’s work so original: the dissociation of colour and drawing.
In watching the comings and goings of holidaymakers on the jetty in Trouville, he observed that the splashes of colour of an object passing quickly in front of the retina remain imprinted on it for longer than the outlines of the object itself. This was the origin of the encroachment of colour on the line in Dufy’s paintings. From 1920, these characteristics, which make his paintings so instantly recognisable, were introduced into works such as L'avenue du Bois de Boulogne (The Avenue du Bois de Boulogne) (1928) and Cérès au bord de la mer (Ceres by the sea) (1928). Dufy felt that colours had their own lives, going beyond the object. They are what give structure to his paintings, forming more or less broad areas on which the painter draws in the various components.
“La Fée Électricité”

In 1936-1937, in Paris, Raoul Dufy produced La Fée Électricité for the Electricity Pavilion at the International Exhibition. This allegory retraces the history of light, bringing together all the painter’s favourite themes: countryside, seaside, mythology, music, etc. ... The work, which was for a long time the largest painting in the world (624 m²) can now be seen at the Paris Museum of Modern Art.

He carried on working, despite a painful, debilitating illness. In 1952, he was awarded the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennial. In 1953, he settled in Forcalquier, where he died that year. Three months later, the Paris Museum of Modern Art organised his first great retrospective.

Works by this artist…

  • Saint Jeannet
    Saint Jeannet
    ( ref : 13961 )
  • Turfistes et Jockeys
    Turfistes et Jockeys
    ( ref : 13960 )
  • La Promenade Au Bois De Boulogue
    La Promenade Au Bois De Boulogue
    ( ref : 13959 )
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