(Bessines-sur-Gartempes 1867–1938 Paris)
Bouquet of flowers in a pot espagnol, signed, dated Suzanne Valadon 1928, oil on canvas, 55 x 46.5 cm, framed, (PS)

Provenance:
Lempertz, 29 May 1999, lot 1053 (acquired there by current owner)
Private Ownership, Germany

Jean Fabri S - Cedric Paillier, Archiv Utrillo, have confirmed the authenticity by e-mail dated 10 February 2015, based on a photo.

The same vase features in the painting, Tulipes et pot espagnol, dated 1929. Comparative works in Paul Petrides, L’Ouevre complet de Suzanne Valadon, Paris 1971, no. P 368

With around two hundred works, Suzanne Valadon’s oeuvre is particularly rich in still lifes. The first phase of this genre dates between 1917 and 1920, and a second, particularly intensive phase of still life painting, began in 1926, largely determining Valadon’s work into the 1930s. In contrast to 17th century Dutch still lifes, Suzanne Valadon’s works do not focus on the symbolism or pecuniary value of the objects in the foreground, but rather on the infinite diversity of colours and shapes and the material nature of the objects depicted.

Her works range from single blossoms to enormous arrangements of flowers, fruits and tableware. As in the present work, her preferred motifs were the flowers which she frequently picked from her garden in St. Bernard and arranged in a vase before banishing them to the canvas. The precision of the execution and seemingly tangible contours of the decorated clay jug on the round table highlight that the artist’s primary interest lay in the volumes and interplay of forms. The particularly accurate depiction of the various carnations, roses, peonies, asparagus twigs and grasses arranged here demonstrates to us in a particularly appealing manner Valadon’s focus on the inexhaustible diversity of shapes and colours of nature.

Her floral arrangements demonstrate the extravagant wealth of growth and the eternal life force of nature. Our still life radiates sensuality and vitality, and is bursting with positive energy.

‘The most important thing is having a sense of volumetric values. He is a child who, standing in front of the bunch of snowdrops, whatever the chosen format, does not instinctively perceive the correct relationships between the shape of the bouquet and vase. Even if he freely adds a beautiful green to the canvas, or an attractive white, he will never be an artist.’ (Suzanne Valadon)
Johanna Brade, Suzanne Valadon, Vom Modell in Montmartre zur Malerin der klassischen Moderne, Stuttgart/ Zürich 1994, p.114