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MAURICE DE VLAMINCK , PARIS, 1876 - RUEIL-LA-GADELIÈRE, 1952 Les Chrysanthèmes Oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm From this bouquet of Chrysanthemums, rustic in its earthen jug, emanates a vitality that goes beyond the mere freshness of the recently cut flowers. They explode with their vivid and sharp colours like a real firework. Here, red and white dominate, contrasting their clarity with the earthy mass of the pot and even more so with the obscure background. Were it not for the shadow that anchors it to its support, the bouquet would seem to be levitating, as the background on which it stands out makes little sense of the space. There is no demarcation between the planes to indicate where the table ends and the back wall begins. We slip imperceptibly from one to the other; only a gradation of grey values creates an impression of space. The light, which seems to radiate from the flowers, has a different source, however, it emanates from the left, as the shadow cast by the vase on the right betrays, but also the reflection on its glazed body. This white line repeats, rather than reflects, the wider line that crosses the left-hand side of the canvas, summing up the light source. With a great economy of means, suggested by the subject itself, this white impasto is the heir to the Flemish and then Dutch window embrasures that illuminated still lifes and genre scenes from the side. Here, the paint is not afraid to show itself, the touch to manifest itself. Subtle in the essences of flowers, it wants to be rougher, by contrast, to signify space. Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1952) was a self-taught painter of Belgian origin. He became known, as early as 1905, for his participation in the Salon d'automne, which caused a scandal. With his friends Derain, Matisse and Dufy, he initiated a new style described by critics as 'Fauvist' and characterised by bright, pure colours applied in large areas without direct reference to the painted object. Although the movement hardly lasted beyond the 1910s, it nevertheless left its mark on all of Vlaminck's work. From 1907 onwards, he discovered the work of Cézanne, which was to be his second great revelation and would have a great influence on his landscape compositions. On the other hand, his aversion for Picasso and cubism, will oppose him during the second world war to the Spanish master and to an avant-garde of which he had been an active member. Vlaminck's painting is generous and spontaneous. On the borderline of the figurative, his style, with broadly brushed strokes and saturated colours, owes as much to the work of Van Gogh, for his taste for impasto, as to that of Cézanne, for his daring spatial constructions. Certificate: Comité Wildenstein Signatur: Signed lower left