Artist
Maurice de Vlaminck (French, 1876–1958)French, 1876–1958
CultureFrench
Titles
- Reclining Nude
Date1905
PlaceChatou, France
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions27 1/2 × 37 3/4 in. (69.9 × 95.9 cm)
frame: 39 × 49 5/8 × 3 1/2 in. (99.1 × 126 × 8.9 cm)
frame: 39 × 49 5/8 × 3 1/2 in. (99.1 × 126 × 8.9 cm)
Credit LineJohn A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection, gift of Audrey Jones Beck
Object number98.310
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
223 Beck Galleries
Exposé
Explore Further
Department
European Art, Beck CollectionSpecial Collections
Object Type
[1] The Vollard stock no. 4418 for Vlaminck’s “femme couchée, 69 x 95 [cm]” has been indicated by Françoise Marnoni. [Information provided to Robert McD. Parker by email, December 16, 2024.]
[2] An undated image of this work entitled “Grand nu au divan” appears in the Vollard archives without any photographic or “cliché” number. [See Base Vollard. Fonds d’Archives de la Galerie Ambroise Vollard, Paris, Documentation du Musée d’Orsay (ODO 1996 56-7233) consulted by Robert McD. Parker, October 2024.].
[3] The work is listed in the 1937 exhibition Les Maitres de l’art Indépendant 1895-1937, p. 32: Vlaminck, cat. no. 4, as “Nu couché,” belonging to Ambroise Vollard. One of six works by Vlaminck listed in the exhibition catalogue as having been loaned by Vollard. A citation in the Vollard archives refers to the loan of this work to this 1937 exhibition with the reference no. 4418. [See Base Vollard. Fonds d’Archives de la Galerie Ambroise Vollard, Paris, Documentation du Musée d’Orsay (MS 421, 3,6 for Vlaminck) consulted by Robert McD. Parker, October 2024.].
[4] Madeleine de Galéa (née Morau) was born in Saint-Dénis, Ile de la Réunion, as was Vollard. Her husband, Edmond Constantin de Galéa died in 1914. An intimate friend of the dealer, she was a beneficiary of Vollard’s estate receiving money, artworks, and property. Her son Robert and the son of the artist Paul Cézanne were both named executors in the dealer’s 1911 will. For more details on Vollard’s estate, see: Assante di Panzillo, Maryline. “The Dispersal of the Vollard Collection” in Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 13, 2006-January 7, 2007; Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, February 17-May 13, 2007; Paris: Musée d’Orsay, June 18-September 16, 2007), pp. 259-262.
[5] Christian de Galéa, grandson of Madeleine de Galéa, was the only child of Robert de Galéa and his wife Suzanne Marie Clotilde de Galéa (née Walrand, 1898-1923). The exact dates of Robert and Christian de Galéa’s ownership of this work are not currently known.
[6] A printed label for the Galerie Charpentier’s 1956 exhibition, as cited, is affixed to the painting’s vertical stretcher bar. The work was listed in exhibition catalogue (cat. no.15), as “Grand nu au divan, 68 x 96 [cm.].” An archival document dated May 28, 1956 for this exhibition in the Fonds Galerie Charpentier (Bibliothèque
Kandinsky, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris) kindly provided by Françoise Marnoni indicates the work was lent by “Monsieur de Galéa,” whose first name was not referenced. [Information communicated to Robert McD. Parker by email, December 16, 2024.] This dated resource has contributed to the identification of the handwritten label (also on the painting’s vertical stretcher bar) for this same exhibition where, among other annotations, the label’s number “223” is an identical match to the numbers corresponding to the present painting in the noted archival document.
[7] A label for the Galerie Charpentier’s 1962 Fauve exhibition, as cited, is also affixed to the painting’s vertical stretcher bar. The work was listed in exhibition catalogue (cat. no. 135), as “Grand nu au divan, 1905” having been loaned from a private collection, both unnamed and of an unknown location. Although Christian de Galéa is acknowledged as a lender in the publication, his name is not associated with any specific artworks. However, Christian de Galéa’s likely ownership at this time is supported by an archival document dated June 22, 1962 for this exhibition in the Fonds Galerie Charpentier (Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris) kindly provided by Françoise Marnoni that indicates the present painting was among other artworks lent to this exhibition with the assistance of “Monsieur de Bolli”---whom she has identified as “Marquis Robert de Bolli, a Parisian collector and agent for Vollard and for the de Galéa family”---and returned to “Monsieur de Galéa.” [Information communicated to Robert McD. Parker by email, December 16, 2024.] This dated record has contributed to the identification of the handwritten label (on the work’s vertical stretcher bar) for this same exhibition where “M. de Bol[l]li’s” name appears on the label as well as other annotations that relate specifically to the present work, such as the number “71,” which corresponds to the reference number for this painting in the noted archival document. Again, in 1962, the archival document indicates ownership by “M. de Galéa,” without further precision. An undetermined Parisian street address is referenced, which may later aid in identifying the owner with more certainty.
[8] The exhibition at the Perls Galleries, New York, occurred from April 9 to May 11, 1968. A label for this exhibition is affixed to the painting’s stretcher and bears the no. “6978.” The present work was listed in the catalogue as cat. no. 5: “Grand Nu au Divan, Perls Galleries” and illustrated. See the MFAH object file for copies an image of the exhibition installation from May 1968 where the painting is displayed beside Vlaminck’s “Pont de Chatou,” cat. no. 25, then owned by Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, Texas (accessed by Robert McD. Parker, April 2024.) Both works now belong to the MFAH (i.e., Reclining Nude, MFAH 98.310; Bridge at Chatou, MFAH 91.1844).
Exhibition HistoryExhibited: "L'Oeuvre de Vlaminck", Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1956, no. 15.
Exhibited: "Les Fauves," Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1962.
Exhibited:"Vlaminck: His Fauve Perio," Perls Gallery, New York, 1968, no. 5, ill.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed, lower left, recto: "Vlaminck"
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