Oil on canvas

50 × 65.5 cm. 19 5/8 × 25 3/4 in.

Dated and signed in French on middle right
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, France
4 Dec 1996, Sotheby's London Autumn Auction, Lot 378
Acquired directly by previous private collector from the above
13 Nov 2018, Sotheby's New York Autumn Auction, Lot 495
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Note: The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Galerie Maurice Garnier

Out of Indulging in Self-Admiration, alone I Shine
A Classic Work of Buffet's Golden Age - Bouquet de Fleurs

"I believe that this painter will win much attention in a few years. He is Buffet. His landscapes and still lifes have an abundance of quality, and it is predictable that his art is progressing steadily. Therefore, his paintings' growth and development history are worth looking forward to."

In 1947, at the age of 19, Buffet showed his genius at the two major French art fairs, Salon des Indépendants and Salon d'Automne, which attracted the writer Pierre Descargues to make this comment. As if to prove the prophecy, Buffet's first solo exhibition at the end of 1947 was a success. The following year, Buffet won the Prix de la Critique. Later, at the age of 30, Buffet was hailed as one of the "five new masters of post-war French art" and was invited to hold a retrospective solo exhibition at the famous Galerie Charpentier. At that time, the exhibition attracted thousands of people, which was unprecedented. From the age of 15, when he enrolled at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Buffet quickly rose to the top of his first peak of achievement dazzlingly in just a decade.

Splendid Time, Everlasting Beauty

In 1950, known as the leader of French realism, Buffet officially opened the prelude of his legendary decade. In the 1950s, he held more than 50 solo exhibitions in galleries and art museums worldwide. Most of his works sold out quickly during the exhibition period, making him, who was still a young man, so famous that titled to be "the most expensive painter in Europe". As a sign of his fame and influence, the magazine Connaissance des Arts awarded him the first place among the ten best post-war artists in 1955.

The outstanding achievements of his artistic career also brought glory to Buffet's life. In his works after 1952, Buffet retained the realistic style of bold brushstrokes in his early years while gradually blending colours in the background of the previous grey and white tones. In still life paintings of this period, he often used yellow-green, grey-blue and other colours as the background, marking the transition of creation. In Bouquet de Fleurs completed in 1953, Buffet painted a still life with nine blue plumbago flowers and nine wine red ranunculus flowers in a bottle with his classic olive-yellow background. The blue plumbago's flower language is "pure as ice and indulge in self-admiration". Plumbago is a melancholy flower representing "brave" and "alone", and it is a frequent guest in Buffet's painting about flowers. At the same time, the noble and elegant ranunculus symbolizes "radiant charm". In this painting, two kinds of flowers bloom as if to allude to Buffet's life situation -- in full bloom under the stage light.

The Uniqueness of Painting, the Fervent Existence of Life

Buffet's still life works are profound, revealing the strong existence derived from life itself. Strong geometric lines and thick and powerful brushwork create a rational expression. In Bouquet de Fleurs, no matter the vase, desktop or bouquet branches are all depicted in a rigorous steady brushwork with thick and fluent black lines drawing the outline, expressing an appeal similar to cold abstract. The vase with a narrow body, a round bottom and a thin ankle is unique, full of geometrical beauty. The objects in the painting are displayed calmly and stably, quietly accepting the baptism of time. The brushes retain mottled traces in the olive-yellow background, dissolve a dash of rational atmosphere, and make emotional fluctuations looming. The flowers in the bottle are in full bloom and randomly placed in a semi-circular arc shape, expressing the unique personality of life, just like a sincere and straightforward expression about loneliness and colourful from the heart.

Price estimate:
HKD: 600,000 - 800,000
USD: 76,400 - 101,900

Auction Result:
撤拍