1923
See also : France Matisse Eastern Europe Soutine Central and South Americas Picasso 1907-1931 Nude Orientalism Leica Inventions
1923 A Nice Farniente
2018 SOLD for $ 81M including premium
Installed in Nice after the war, Henri Matisse resumes his research of colors and compositions with a serenity that Paris could not bring him. With Antoinette and even better with Henriette, he maintains an intimate connivance with his models. Their body becomes the central element of the artwork.
Henriette poses complacently because she appreciates the beauty of her athletic body. In parallel to nude studies, Matisse stages her in orientalist attires that are a new excuse for the shimmer of colors in her surroundings. Her portraits exudes her confidence in the artist without inhibiting her sensuality.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 8 Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm painted in 1923. The nice intimacy of this artwork had seduced David and Peggy Rockefeller.
The young woman enjoys the pleasures of idleness, ready to nap or just finishing it. She is reclining on a chaise longue probably in the gate of a veranda. She wears on her shoulders a light shirt completely opened to expose the naked chest to the beneficent sun of the Côte d'Azur.
The orientalist impression is brought by the Persian harem pants which loosely cover the lower part of her body and by the screen behind her whose right panel is centered on two large magnolia flowers.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Henriette poses complacently because she appreciates the beauty of her athletic body. In parallel to nude studies, Matisse stages her in orientalist attires that are a new excuse for the shimmer of colors in her surroundings. Her portraits exudes her confidence in the artist without inhibiting her sensuality.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 8 Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm painted in 1923. The nice intimacy of this artwork had seduced David and Peggy Rockefeller.
The young woman enjoys the pleasures of idleness, ready to nap or just finishing it. She is reclining on a chaise longue probably in the gate of a veranda. She wears on her shoulders a light shirt completely opened to expose the naked chest to the beneficent sun of the Côte d'Azur.
The orientalist impression is brought by the Persian harem pants which loosely cover the lower part of her body and by the screen behind her whose right panel is centered on two large magnolia flowers.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1923 Le Boeuf by Soutine
2015 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
Despite his difficult and secretive behavior, Chaïm Soutine was not isolated in the Parisian art world. He had been a drinking companion of Modigliani and interested Zborowski. He decomposed the landscapes to better express the violence of colors, to the detriment not only of perspective but also of balance.
Visiting Paris in 1923, Barnes was overwhelmed by the highly original expressive approach of the young painter, but Soutine never reacts like everyone else. After this unexpected success, he moved his studio and rushed to La Villette to buy a beef carcass.
The series of images of carcasses, beef and afterwards other animals, is not a victory of the artist against hunger. He was indeed already threatened by his stomach ulcer that will kill him twenty years later.
The haunting red of blood and meat is the exacerbation of a child's nightmare. Soutine had been shocked by the contrast between the tragedy of the dead animal and the satisfaction of the butcher to offer a choice piece. His carcasses defy the balancing traditions of still life painting in a logical continuation of his compositions of landscapes.
Meat rots on its hook, offering new colors to the artist and alerting the neighbors who called the police but failed to halt this remarkable creative impulse. An oil on canvas 81 x 60 cm showing a beef carcass in close up view is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11, lot 30A.
The views of a beef carcass are indeed an experience by the artist for expressing the colors of flesh and blood. The example above is a close up. Displaying the same carcass in full view including the hooks and the surrounding of his new studio, Le Boeuf écorché looks like a crucifixion with its stretched limbs. This large size oil on canvas 130 x 75 cm painted ca 1924 was sold for £ 7.8M by Christie's on February 6, 2006, lot 68.
Visiting Paris in 1923, Barnes was overwhelmed by the highly original expressive approach of the young painter, but Soutine never reacts like everyone else. After this unexpected success, he moved his studio and rushed to La Villette to buy a beef carcass.
The series of images of carcasses, beef and afterwards other animals, is not a victory of the artist against hunger. He was indeed already threatened by his stomach ulcer that will kill him twenty years later.
The haunting red of blood and meat is the exacerbation of a child's nightmare. Soutine had been shocked by the contrast between the tragedy of the dead animal and the satisfaction of the butcher to offer a choice piece. His carcasses defy the balancing traditions of still life painting in a logical continuation of his compositions of landscapes.
Meat rots on its hook, offering new colors to the artist and alerting the neighbors who called the police but failed to halt this remarkable creative impulse. An oil on canvas 81 x 60 cm showing a beef carcass in close up view is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11, lot 30A.
The views of a beef carcass are indeed an experience by the artist for expressing the colors of flesh and blood. The example above is a close up. Displaying the same carcass in full view including the hooks and the surrounding of his new studio, Le Boeuf écorché looks like a crucifixion with its stretched limbs. This large size oil on canvas 130 x 75 cm painted ca 1924 was sold for £ 7.8M by Christie's on February 6, 2006, lot 68.
This beef painting is selling for the cost of about 400,000 rib-eyes http://t.co/Zcs8LR5a2C pic.twitter.com/MW7KxVGDEh
— Bon Appétit (@bonappetit) May 6, 2015
1923 PICASSO
1
La Lettre
2019 SOLD for $ 25M by Christie's
The son of Pablo and Olga Picasso, Paulo, was born in 1921. The amazed artist paints maternities. Two years later, moods have already changed : the mother and the child are the subject of separate paintings. The couple is not well. Olga is increasingly melancholic and introverted, which does not suit the temperament of this forty-year-old who transfers his fantasies into his erotic drawings.
In 1923 Picasso seeks once again a style. After the Demoiselles d'Avignon and Cubisme, he uses his drawing skills for a neo-classicism. Hands and feet of his characters are exaggerated to express the monumental majesty of ancient goddesses. Picasso admired one of his predecessors, Paul Cézanne. In this same period his still lifes allow him to persevere in a Cubism where he hides the erotic references that could disturb Olga.
In April 1923 he paints three large portraits of Olga, two in oil and one in pastel. The sharp brush stroke is a tribute to the idealized beauty of the former ballerina of the Ballets Russes. The hues of great softness express a demand for empathy that Pablo still has with his wife but his erotic desire is no longer on her.
On May 13, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 25M La Lettre (la réponse), oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, lot 64A. The young woman is seated at a desk for writing a letter but she has entered her reverie and does not use her pen.
These three portraits are among the last paintings of Picasso's Ingresque period. In the following year, he radically reinterprets cubism by replacing collage-shaped flat areas with an application to human figures of the de-construction of the Cézannian space. In 1928 surrealism allows Picasso to stop differentiating Olga from other women. Their communication issue inevitably leads to the break.
In 1923 Picasso seeks once again a style. After the Demoiselles d'Avignon and Cubisme, he uses his drawing skills for a neo-classicism. Hands and feet of his characters are exaggerated to express the monumental majesty of ancient goddesses. Picasso admired one of his predecessors, Paul Cézanne. In this same period his still lifes allow him to persevere in a Cubism where he hides the erotic references that could disturb Olga.
In April 1923 he paints three large portraits of Olga, two in oil and one in pastel. The sharp brush stroke is a tribute to the idealized beauty of the former ballerina of the Ballets Russes. The hues of great softness express a demand for empathy that Pablo still has with his wife but his erotic desire is no longer on her.
On May 13, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 25M La Lettre (la réponse), oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, lot 64A. The young woman is seated at a desk for writing a letter but she has entered her reverie and does not use her pen.
These three portraits are among the last paintings of Picasso's Ingresque period. In the following year, he radically reinterprets cubism by replacing collage-shaped flat areas with an application to human figures of the de-construction of the Cézannian space. In 1928 surrealism allows Picasso to stop differentiating Olga from other women. Their communication issue inevitably leads to the break.
2
La Cage d'Oiseaux
1988 SOLD for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's
Around 1923 Picasso continues in his neo-classicism but the portraits of pretty women may disturb Olga. His former Cubist style of still lifes may help.
La Cage d'Oiseaux is displaying a mingled variety of objects in a room with a window. The theme was a pretext to juxtapose the bright colors. A tiny cage sheltering a yellow bird hiding a white bird is the most readable element in this typical Cubist painting.
This monumental oil on canvas 200 x 140 cm was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on November 10, 1988 from the deceased estate of Victor Ganz.
La Cage d'Oiseaux is displaying a mingled variety of objects in a room with a window. The theme was a pretext to juxtapose the bright colors. A tiny cage sheltering a yellow bird hiding a white bird is the most readable element in this typical Cubist painting.
This monumental oil on canvas 200 x 140 cm was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on November 10, 1988 from the deceased estate of Victor Ganz.
3
Tête Classique
2022 SOLD for $ 9.4M by Christie's
Unlike painting, drawing does not change so much throughout the history of art. In 1921, Picasso is visiting Naples and Pompeii in search of the roots of art and of classicism.
He said in May 1923 : “To me there is no past or future in my art. If a work of art cannot live always in the present it must not be considered at all. The art of the Greeks, of the Egyptians, of the great painters who lived in other times, is not an art of the past; perhaps it is more alive today than it ever was”.
Tête classique, made in February 1923, is as graceful as the head of Flora in the Primavera by Botticelli, although Picasso did not reveal his antique or Renaissance inspirations. This black Conté crayon, charcoal and estompe on rose tinted paper 63 x 48 cm was sold for $ 9.4M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 10.
Picasso also made some portraits of his wife Olga in a similar neo-Classical style.
He said in May 1923 : “To me there is no past or future in my art. If a work of art cannot live always in the present it must not be considered at all. The art of the Greeks, of the Egyptians, of the great painters who lived in other times, is not an art of the past; perhaps it is more alive today than it ever was”.
Tête classique, made in February 1923, is as graceful as the head of Flora in the Primavera by Botticelli, although Picasso did not reveal his antique or Renaissance inspirations. This black Conté crayon, charcoal and estompe on rose tinted paper 63 x 48 cm was sold for $ 9.4M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 10.
Picasso also made some portraits of his wife Olga in a similar neo-Classical style.
1923 Leica Null-Series
2022 SOLD for € 14.4M by Leitz Photographica
The Leica has propelled photography into the modern world. The idea was to provide a compact and handy camera using the 35 mm motion picture film.
In 1911 Oskar (Oscar) Barnack was hired by Leitz. Founded in the mid-19th century, the Optische Werke Ernst Leitz company established in Wetzlar specialized in precision mechanics for optical instruments.
In the development phase of the cinema, setting the exposure time was an issue. To test it Barnack has the idea in 1913 to insert a 35 mm flexible film horizontally in a still camera. He builds two prototypes of this Leca that will later be spelled Leica for Leitz Camera. The horizontal position makes it possible to use 8 perforations per frame instead of 4 for the vertical rolling in a movie camera. The 24 x 36 mm was born.
Until then the usual practice for positive photography had been the contact printing. Barnack loves hiking but he is sick and must avoid heavy equipment. He considers reusing his miniature 24 x 36 mm format. The positives will be achieved by enlargement. He makes a third prototype between 1918 and 1920.
Barnack convinces his boss Ernst Leitz II to continue this innovative experience. To evaluate the feasibility of a production and to test the market, Leitz authorizes in 1923 a small series of 31 cameras numbered from 100 to 130, the 0-Series (in German : Nullserie) of the Leica. It seems that some of these numbers were not finally used for an estimated total of 22 units. A dozen are surviving.
The 0-Series Leica has some improvements compared to its three precursors, including to allow loading and unloading the film in daylight. The lens cover is now essential for not fogging the film when arming.
Thus was born the 24 x 36 mm picture size, which was the most universally used before the digital image. Two years later, the Leica A opened the road of success to these "Leitz cameras".
Excellent lenses and robust mechanics enabled the photographers, amateurs and professionals, to easily realize quality images.
The No. 105 was the personal camera of Oskar Barnack who used it extensively until he switched to a Leica I-C with interchangeable lenses in 1930. It remained in his family until 1960. Some elements have been changed by its early users.
# 105 was sold for € 14.4M from a lower estimate of € 2M for sale on June 5, 2022 by WestLicht renamed Leitz Photographica, lot 5. Documents and letters are joined to that lot that also includes a Nettel camera that Barnack heavily modified for his photographic research and development.
In B+ condition the Leica 122 is one of the best preserved of the series. Its lens cover, folding viewfinder and paintwork are original. It was sold for € 2.4M by WestLicht on March 10, 2018, lot 3 here linked to the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform.
In 1911 Oskar (Oscar) Barnack was hired by Leitz. Founded in the mid-19th century, the Optische Werke Ernst Leitz company established in Wetzlar specialized in precision mechanics for optical instruments.
In the development phase of the cinema, setting the exposure time was an issue. To test it Barnack has the idea in 1913 to insert a 35 mm flexible film horizontally in a still camera. He builds two prototypes of this Leca that will later be spelled Leica for Leitz Camera. The horizontal position makes it possible to use 8 perforations per frame instead of 4 for the vertical rolling in a movie camera. The 24 x 36 mm was born.
Until then the usual practice for positive photography had been the contact printing. Barnack loves hiking but he is sick and must avoid heavy equipment. He considers reusing his miniature 24 x 36 mm format. The positives will be achieved by enlargement. He makes a third prototype between 1918 and 1920.
Barnack convinces his boss Ernst Leitz II to continue this innovative experience. To evaluate the feasibility of a production and to test the market, Leitz authorizes in 1923 a small series of 31 cameras numbered from 100 to 130, the 0-Series (in German : Nullserie) of the Leica. It seems that some of these numbers were not finally used for an estimated total of 22 units. A dozen are surviving.
The 0-Series Leica has some improvements compared to its three precursors, including to allow loading and unloading the film in daylight. The lens cover is now essential for not fogging the film when arming.
Thus was born the 24 x 36 mm picture size, which was the most universally used before the digital image. Two years later, the Leica A opened the road of success to these "Leitz cameras".
Excellent lenses and robust mechanics enabled the photographers, amateurs and professionals, to easily realize quality images.
The No. 105 was the personal camera of Oskar Barnack who used it extensively until he switched to a Leica I-C with interchangeable lenses in 1930. It remained in his family until 1960. Some elements have been changed by its early users.
# 105 was sold for € 14.4M from a lower estimate of € 2M for sale on June 5, 2022 by WestLicht renamed Leitz Photographica, lot 5. Documents and letters are joined to that lot that also includes a Nettel camera that Barnack heavily modified for his photographic research and development.
In B+ condition the Leica 122 is one of the best preserved of the series. Its lens cover, folding viewfinder and paintwork are original. It was sold for € 2.4M by WestLicht on March 10, 2018, lot 3 here linked to the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform.
NEW WORLD RECORD! #Leica 0-series no.105 sold for:
— Leica Camera AG (@leica_camera) June 11, 2022
14,400,000 EUR (including buyers premium)
at the 40th #LeitzPhotographicaAuction
The 105 has thus broken the world record for the most expensive camera of all times! pic.twitter.com/3lTDQGUnpr
1923 Fleurs devant un Portrait by Matisse
2022 SOLD for $ 15.3M by Sotheby's
With his still lifes painted in Nice in the mid 1920s, Henri Matisse goes a step further toward abstraction.
Everything is an excuse for varied colors : the flowers, the tablecloth, the wall covering. The artist will later state that "the subject of a picture and its background have the same value, or, to put it more clearly, there is no principal feature, only the pattern is important. The picture is formed by the combination of surfaces, differently colored." The sharpness of the line is also becoming secondary.
Fleurs devant un Portrait, painted in 1923, is an example of such a revolutionary practice. Matisse did not forget his muse, Henriette at that time, whose sharp head portrait appears on the wall, half hidden by the bouquet.
The Bernheim-Jeune brothers were appealed by that modernism. A receipt issued to them by the artist in December 1923 indicates that these Fleurs were more expensive at 10,000 francs than the Odalisque priced 7,250 francs in the same transaction, which will fetch $ 81M at Christie's in 2018.
The re-use in a figurative indoor work of the bright outside colors of the Côte d'Azur anticipates by four decades the abstract interpretations of Ocean Park by Diebenkorn.
This oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm was sold for $ 15.3M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 18, consigned by the Toledo Museum of Art to benefit acquisitions.
Everything is an excuse for varied colors : the flowers, the tablecloth, the wall covering. The artist will later state that "the subject of a picture and its background have the same value, or, to put it more clearly, there is no principal feature, only the pattern is important. The picture is formed by the combination of surfaces, differently colored." The sharpness of the line is also becoming secondary.
Fleurs devant un Portrait, painted in 1923, is an example of such a revolutionary practice. Matisse did not forget his muse, Henriette at that time, whose sharp head portrait appears on the wall, half hidden by the bouquet.
The Bernheim-Jeune brothers were appealed by that modernism. A receipt issued to them by the artist in December 1923 indicates that these Fleurs were more expensive at 10,000 francs than the Odalisque priced 7,250 francs in the same transaction, which will fetch $ 81M at Christie's in 2018.
The re-use in a figurative indoor work of the bright outside colors of the Côte d'Azur anticipates by four decades the abstract interpretations of Ocean Park by Diebenkorn.
This oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm was sold for $ 15.3M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2022, lot 18, consigned by the Toledo Museum of Art to benefit acquisitions.
1923 The New Odalisques
2018 SOLD for $ 14.4M including premium
A theoretician of forms and colors, Matisse was too austere. Renoir advises him to develop his sensuality.
Matisse enjoys collecting exotic clothes and hangings that he buys during his vacation trips and also from a Parisian dealer. When he settles permanently in Nice a new life begins for him : he starts with Antoinette his Moorish scenes.
His co-operation with Henriette is decisive for this phase of his career. She loves art, music, theater and dance. Her body is healthy and sculptural and she rarely smiles. She enjoys playing Matisse's game and her frank and somewhat authoritarian nudity is not a figure of harem. The artist's family is not mistaken and warmly welcomes her.
Antoinette often appeared nervous. Henriette is cool, in attitudes of everyday life regardless of her costume. Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm painted in 1923, was sold for $ 81M including premium by Christie's on May 8, 2018.
Standing nude from front is highlighting this modern Venus. A full nude painted in 1922 in a Moorish environment, oil on canvas 56 x 34 cm, was sold for £ 4.4M including premium by Christie's on June 27, 2017.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Odalisque mains dans le dos, oil on canvas 60 x 50 cm painted in 1923, lot 9 A estimated $ 15M. Naked down to below the navel, the standing Henriette wears a long transparent exotic skirt with a golden belt. Behind her the screen in toile de Jouy confirms that exoticism was indeed nothing more for the artist than a pretext for revealing beauty.
Matisse enjoys collecting exotic clothes and hangings that he buys during his vacation trips and also from a Parisian dealer. When he settles permanently in Nice a new life begins for him : he starts with Antoinette his Moorish scenes.
His co-operation with Henriette is decisive for this phase of his career. She loves art, music, theater and dance. Her body is healthy and sculptural and she rarely smiles. She enjoys playing Matisse's game and her frank and somewhat authoritarian nudity is not a figure of harem. The artist's family is not mistaken and warmly welcomes her.
Antoinette often appeared nervous. Henriette is cool, in attitudes of everyday life regardless of her costume. Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, oil on canvas 61 x 81 cm painted in 1923, was sold for $ 81M including premium by Christie's on May 8, 2018.
Standing nude from front is highlighting this modern Venus. A full nude painted in 1922 in a Moorish environment, oil on canvas 56 x 34 cm, was sold for £ 4.4M including premium by Christie's on June 27, 2017.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Odalisque mains dans le dos, oil on canvas 60 x 50 cm painted in 1923, lot 9 A estimated $ 15M. Naked down to below the navel, the standing Henriette wears a long transparent exotic skirt with a golden belt. Behind her the screen in toile de Jouy confirms that exoticism was indeed nothing more for the artist than a pretext for revealing beauty.
1923 A Muse for Matisse
2016 SOLD for £ 10.8M including premium
After the war, Henri Matisse escapes the Parisian bustle. He organizes the cosy comfort of his apartment in Nice, with wallpapers that are abstract and colorful decorations reminding the background walls in the photographers' studios. The beauty of the female body remains his favorite theme.
His daughter Marguerite is a young adult who becomes tired of sitting. In 1920, Henri sees Henriette dancing on a stage. She is about 19 years old and plays violin and piano. She becomes the preferred muse of Henri and is warmly welcomed in his family. She likes performing, accepts the nude and takes some pleasure to dress in the costumes of odalisques.
Henri encourages his muse to develop her musical skills and observes her in this quiet occupation. On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells La Leçon de Piano, oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm painted in 1923, lot 14 estimated £ 12M.
The atmosphere is a family scene. The two very young brothers of Henriette are listening to the music. Walls, furniture, clothing and carpet offer the studies of colors that constitute the signature style of the artist.
Henriette will not play at concert. In the following year, she is caught in stage frights. Henri, ever friendly with his young protégée, encourages her to paint. The morning session, oil on canvas 74 x 61 cm, was sold for $ 19,2M including premium by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
I invite you to watch the teaser video shared by Sotheby's to announce the Piano lesson.
His daughter Marguerite is a young adult who becomes tired of sitting. In 1920, Henri sees Henriette dancing on a stage. She is about 19 years old and plays violin and piano. She becomes the preferred muse of Henri and is warmly welcomed in his family. She likes performing, accepts the nude and takes some pleasure to dress in the costumes of odalisques.
Henri encourages his muse to develop her musical skills and observes her in this quiet occupation. On February 3 in London, Sotheby's sells La Leçon de Piano, oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm painted in 1923, lot 14 estimated £ 12M.
The atmosphere is a family scene. The two very young brothers of Henriette are listening to the music. Walls, furniture, clothing and carpet offer the studies of colors that constitute the signature style of the artist.
Henriette will not play at concert. In the following year, she is caught in stage frights. Henri, ever friendly with his young protégée, encourages her to paint. The morning session, oil on canvas 74 x 61 cm, was sold for $ 19,2M including premium by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
I invite you to watch the teaser video shared by Sotheby's to announce the Piano lesson.
1923 A Caipirinha by Tarsila
2020 SOLD for BRL 57.5M including premium (worth US$ 11.2M) by Bolsa de Arte
narrated post sale in 2020
Tarsila do Amaral was in Paris in 1923. She was enthusiastic about the cosmopolitan desires of the artistic avant-gardes. She is the Brazilian, and more precisely a caipirinha. The caipiras are those people from the tropical countryside who are the laughing stock of city dwellers by their naivety and their appalling accent.
She is influenced by André Lhote's cubism, where the slightly deformed figurative elements are distributed on the canvas without consideration of their respective distances, with a partitioned geometry and simple colors.
On December 17, 2020, Bolsa de Arte sold A Caipirinha, oil on canvas 60 x 81 cm painted by Tarsila in Paris in 1923, for BRL 57.5M including premium, worth US $ 11.2M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist expresses the resolutely optimistic happiness of her childhood, when she was making her doll from the leaves collected in front of the farm. This allusion is not directly visible. The character is an adult and the doll is not there, but the symbolic leaf is in the foreground under the hand.
The iconography is bold, with some repetitions with no link in the meaning. The hand with five parallel fingers and the palisade with six boards are similar. The barn door on the right is copied to the left, where it loses its meaning by a position in front of the tree.
In the same period, Tarsila also shakes up the morphologies, without however joining the surrealists. Allusions to rural Brazil dot all her work, through ethnological details, tropical light, farm life. This resolutely regionalist art anticipates the school of Mexico.
She is influenced by André Lhote's cubism, where the slightly deformed figurative elements are distributed on the canvas without consideration of their respective distances, with a partitioned geometry and simple colors.
On December 17, 2020, Bolsa de Arte sold A Caipirinha, oil on canvas 60 x 81 cm painted by Tarsila in Paris in 1923, for BRL 57.5M including premium, worth US $ 11.2M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The artist expresses the resolutely optimistic happiness of her childhood, when she was making her doll from the leaves collected in front of the farm. This allusion is not directly visible. The character is an adult and the doll is not there, but the symbolic leaf is in the foreground under the hand.
The iconography is bold, with some repetitions with no link in the meaning. The hand with five parallel fingers and the palisade with six boards are similar. The barn door on the right is copied to the left, where it loses its meaning by a position in front of the tree.
In the same period, Tarsila also shakes up the morphologies, without however joining the surrealists. Allusions to rural Brazil dot all her work, through ethnological details, tropical light, farm life. This resolutely regionalist art anticipates the school of Mexico.
