Raoul DUFY (Le Havre 1877 - Forcalquier 1956)

Project for the Electricity Fairy, 1937 Gouache on paper with tiling 49 x 64 cm at the view Signed lower right partially legible Raoul Dufy Annotated on the left side Lemonnier... Dufay...Guillaume Gilbert 1603 Arte maquetica Provenance : Sale Palais Galliera, Paris June 6, 1967,n°52 reproduced Sale Palais Galliera, Paris, December 9, 1969, n°9 reproduced Private collection Bibliography : Fanny Guillon-Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné des aquarelles, gouaches et pastels, Tome 2, Edition Louis Carré, Paris 1982, tome 2, n°1931 reproduced p.318 In 1937, Paris hosted the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques Applied to Modern Life. It was the largest public demonstration of industrial modernity in the first half of the 20th century. Indeed, at a time when there was a real "technological effervescence" in the world, this exhibition was a privileged showcase for the various nations that participated to illustrate what represents key concepts, such as modernity, progress or, more nuanced, technical and technological innovation. In Paris, this impetus for modernity is manifested in the deployment of an electrical network. As early as the 1889 Universal Exhibition, under pressure from public opinion, the Paris City Council decided to create an electricity distribution network. This network was then entrusted to six companies in the form of concessions and divided into eight electrical sectors between Paris and its suburbs. From 1907 to 1913, in order to optimize electricity production and transmission costs, the concessions were merged and entrusted to the "Union des Secteurs". On January 1, 1914, in the same quest for efficiency, a single company was created: the Compagnie parisienne de distribution d'électricité (CPDE). This company took over from the six concessionaires and had a monopoly on public lighting in Paris. From 1930 onwards, in order to meet the increased need for electrical energy, the CPDE devoted itself exclusively to the transport of electricity. To do this, the company developed interconnections between the production plants and the substations responsible for transforming and bringing the electrical network into compliance. Thus, this reorganization makes it possible to expand access to electricity. As the transcript of an interview with Sophie Krebs, general curator at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, shows: "Between 1918 and 1938, electricity coverage in France jumped by 77%: [...] nearly 90% of French communes were connected to the network. However, this connection did not reach all households individually: it was not until the late 1950s that this happened." In anticipation of the 1937 International Exhibition, on July 7, 1936, the Parisian electricity distribution company commissioned Raoul Dufy to create a monumental decoration for the wall of the hall of the Palais de la Lumière et de l'Électricité. At that time, the artist's name was already very well known to the public and was particularly resonant in the circle of Fauvism. Because of his decorative and dreamlike style, companies called upon his talents to create unique decorations. Thus, when the CPDE solicited Dufy for the Palais de la Lumière et de l'Électricité, the latter already had a great deal of experience with commissions. This palace, built by Robert Mallet-Stevens on the Champ-de-Mars, presents an avant-garde architecture, asserting itself "as the most visionary model" of this event, according to Barbara Basting, currently head of the visual arts sector of the Department of Culture of the city of Zurich. Indeed, according to the latter: "The contrast with the pompous and triumphant constructions of Germany and the Soviet Union that dominated the Champ de Mars enhanced the elegance and rigor of Robert Mallet-Stevens's project [...]. Not that he was without superlatives: his tower supported the lantern of the brand new Ouessant lighthouse, which was then the most powerful in the world. On the esplanade, a luminous arch from which sparks shot out reinforced its spectacular dimension. No one could misunderstand the message of this orgy of lights: this is the future, and for this future, we need electricity. Like the Palais de la Lumière et de l'Électricité, the work commissioned from Raoul Dufy by the director of the CPDE, Charles Malégarie, is part of an active patronage policy and is intended to serve scientific progress. It is a retranscription of French modernity and of all the inventiveness of human genius. If the objective of Dufy's project has a scientific scope, it is also societal since it meets the expectations of the Popular Front, head of government between May 1936 and April 1938. As the