Van Dongen

Fülszöveg

VAN DONGEN
by Gaston Diehl
Near the end of a long and fruitful existence, the last patriarch of Fauvism, van Dongen, seemed still to be an unfulfilled man. Why? His malicious blue eyes never stopped taunting not only the death that waited for him, but also, in spite of the solitude that weighed heavy on him, all that elegant society to which he had dealt such telling blows. What was lacking to him then?
Swept along by a singular appetite for sensual pleasure, van Dongen had roared in concert with the rest of the Fauves, and after that — far from seeking serenity, as did most of them — he had, on the contrary, allowed his sensuality to burst forth with violence. Having set out as a very young man from his native Holland for the conquest of Paris, he rapidly became — helped along by his success — the most Parisian of painters, incontestably triumphant during the " mad years " of between-the-wars. The " Tout Paris " celebrated with him a success that endured over the course of... Tovább

Fülszöveg

VAN DONGEN
by Gaston Diehl
Near the end of a long and fruitful existence, the last patriarch of Fauvism, van Dongen, seemed still to be an unfulfilled man. Why? His malicious blue eyes never stopped taunting not only the death that waited for him, but also, in spite of the solitude that weighed heavy on him, all that elegant society to which he had dealt such telling blows. What was lacking to him then?
Swept along by a singular appetite for sensual pleasure, van Dongen had roared in concert with the rest of the Fauves, and after that — far from seeking serenity, as did most of them — he had, on the contrary, allowed his sensuality to burst forth with violence. Having set out as a very young man from his native Holland for the conquest of Paris, he rapidly became — helped along by his success — the most Parisian of painters, incontestably triumphant during the " mad years " of between-the-wars. The " Tout Paris " celebrated with him a success that endured over the course of many years, despite the envious, events of the time, or changes in fashion. In the end, mho won — the "star" portraitist, or the painter? Which one has the best chance for survival? Who really lived behind the cynical and mocking person it pleased van Dongen to incarnate? Finally, what significance does his work merit, and how can the rapport between the artist who created the work and his time be defined? Now that the artist has died, just a short time ago, many questions arise which must be answered if van Dongen is to be rendered fuU justice. This is what Gaston Diehl has tried to do, fairly and without burdening this analysis with irrelevant and mosdy false legends, as he follows the evolution of the painter, and in so doing evokes the face of an epoch that he knows well, having already studied many aspects of it in the course of his preceding worlcs on Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Pascin and the whole field of modern painting. This excellent work, rounded off by numerous reproductions in color or in black and white of the highest quality — many of works never reproduced before — and by the abundance of biographical and bibliographical references, constitates an indispensable source of information within the reach of everyone.
Picture on the Front Cover:
In the Plaza or Women at the Balustrade (Detail), 1911
Oil, 40"X32" Musée de I'Annonciade, Saint-Tropez, France
Picture on the Back Cover: The Clown (Detail), 1905-1907 Oil, 40" x 32" Private Coltection, Paris Vissza