Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay
1885 - 1941
Portrait de Madame Heim (Étude). 1926/27.
Oil on canvas.
Inscribed “ROBERT DELAUNAY” on the reverse of the stretcher, presumably by a hand other than the artist’s. 130 x 96.7 cm (51.1 x 38 in).
In addition to the exhibition labels listed below, the reverse also bears a shipping label from the “Salon des Indépendants” in Paris (no date) and a label of the “Galerie Beyeler” in Basel. [AR].
• An outstanding portrait and arguably the central work in a series of about 20 portraits of Madame Heim.
• The Synthesis Period: the iconic color wheel, light reflections, and perspective distortions combine a naturalistic portrait with Delaunay’s groundbreaking painting style.
• Art meets fashion: Madame Heim, wife of fashion designer Jacques Heim, wears a scarf designed by Sonia Delaunay.
• From the height of Delaunay’s portraiture phase (1920–1930): From Tristan Tzara to Jean Cocteau, he portrayed the Parisian avant-garde.
• Other versions of the portrait are held in museum collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
• Impressive exhibition history.
PROVENANCE: From the estate of Robert and Sonia Delaunay.
Charles Delaunay, Paris.
Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne/Zurich.
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.
EXHIBITION: Robert Delaunay, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Liège, 1955, cat. no. 14.
Robert Delaunay, Kunstverein Hamburg, Jan. 26–March 11, 1962, cat. no. 5; Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, March 24–May 6, 1962; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, May 18–June 24, 1962, cat. no. 53 (with black-and-white illustration).
Les années 25, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, March 3–May 16, 1966, cat. no. 11.
Sonia Delaunay. Robert Delaunay, Musée des beaux-arts de Nancy, June 29–September 11, 1972, Nancy, cat. no. 79.
Robert Delaunay, Galerie Jacques Damase, Brussels, 1973 (with b&w illustration, no. 21, p. 25).
Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (label on the reverse), 1982, cat. no. 26 (with black-and-white illustration); Fundacion Juan March, Madrid, Apr./May 1982 (label on the reverse), cat. no. 45.
Robert Delaunay, Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, May 13–July 30, 1983 (with color illustration, p. 114).
Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, May 14–Sept. 8, 1985 (with color illustration, no. 49, p. 96).
Delaunay and Germany, Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst im Haus der Kunst, Munich, Oct. 4, 1985–Jan. 6, 1986, cat. no. 114 (with b/w illustration on p. 377).
Malerei in Prisma. Freundeskreis Sonia und Robert Delaunay, Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, April 29–July 26, 1991, pp. 96–97 (with color illustrations).
LITERATURE: Guy Habasque, Pierre Francastel, Robert Delaunay. Du cubisme à l'art abstrait. Documents inédits publiés par Pierre Francastel et suivis d'un catalogue de l'oeuvre de R. Delaunay par Guy Habasque, Paris 1957, CR no. 257.
- -
Bernard Dorival, Robert Delaunay 1885–1941, Brussels 1975 (with illustration on p. 84).
Annette Malochet, Atelier simultané di Sonia Delaunay 1923–1934, Milan 1984, p. 98 (with color illustration).
Danielle Molinari, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Paris 1987, cat. no. 241 (with color illustration on p. 138).
Robert Delaunay
1885 - 1941
Portrait de Madame Heim (Étude). 1926/27.
Oil on canvas.
Inscribed “ROBERT DELAUNAY” on the reverse of the stretcher, presumably by a hand other than the artist’s. 130 x 96.7 cm (51.1 x 38 in).
In addition to the exhibition labels listed below, the reverse also bears a shipping label from the “Salon des Indépendants” in Paris (no date) and a label of the “Galerie Beyeler” in Basel. [AR].
• An outstanding portrait and arguably the central work in a series of about 20 portraits of Madame Heim.
• The Synthesis Period: the iconic color wheel, light reflections, and perspective distortions combine a naturalistic portrait with Delaunay’s groundbreaking painting style.
• Art meets fashion: Madame Heim, wife of fashion designer Jacques Heim, wears a scarf designed by Sonia Delaunay.
• From the height of Delaunay’s portraiture phase (1920–1930): From Tristan Tzara to Jean Cocteau, he portrayed the Parisian avant-garde.
• Other versions of the portrait are held in museum collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
• Impressive exhibition history.
PROVENANCE: From the estate of Robert and Sonia Delaunay.
Charles Delaunay, Paris.
Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne/Zurich.
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia.
EXHIBITION: Robert Delaunay, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Liège, 1955, cat. no. 14.
Robert Delaunay, Kunstverein Hamburg, Jan. 26–March 11, 1962, cat. no. 5; Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, March 24–May 6, 1962; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, May 18–June 24, 1962, cat. no. 53 (with black-and-white illustration).
Les années 25, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, March 3–May 16, 1966, cat. no. 11.
Sonia Delaunay. Robert Delaunay, Musée des beaux-arts de Nancy, June 29–September 11, 1972, Nancy, cat. no. 79.
Robert Delaunay, Galerie Jacques Damase, Brussels, 1973 (with b&w illustration, no. 21, p. 25).
Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (label on the reverse), 1982, cat. no. 26 (with black-and-white illustration); Fundacion Juan March, Madrid, Apr./May 1982 (label on the reverse), cat. no. 45.
Robert Delaunay, Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, May 13–July 30, 1983 (with color illustration, p. 114).
Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, May 14–Sept. 8, 1985 (with color illustration, no. 49, p. 96).
Delaunay and Germany, Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst im Haus der Kunst, Munich, Oct. 4, 1985–Jan. 6, 1986, cat. no. 114 (with b/w illustration on p. 377).
Malerei in Prisma. Freundeskreis Sonia und Robert Delaunay, Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, April 29–July 26, 1991, pp. 96–97 (with color illustrations).
LITERATURE: Guy Habasque, Pierre Francastel, Robert Delaunay. Du cubisme à l'art abstrait. Documents inédits publiés par Pierre Francastel et suivis d'un catalogue de l'oeuvre de R. Delaunay par Guy Habasque, Paris 1957, CR no. 257.
- -
Bernard Dorival, Robert Delaunay 1885–1941, Brussels 1975 (with illustration on p. 84).
Annette Malochet, Atelier simultané di Sonia Delaunay 1923–1934, Milan 1984, p. 98 (with color illustration).
Danielle Molinari, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Paris 1987, cat. no. 241 (with color illustration on p. 138).
