72 - Maxime Maufra

Maxime Maufra (French, 1861-1918) Belle-Ile en Mer, 1918 oil on canvas signed Maufra and dated (lower left) 18 x 21 1/2 in. (45.7 x 54.6 cm) Property from a Private Collection, South Carolina This lot is located in Philadelphia. Framed: 26 x 30 x 2 in. The unlined canvas is in overall very good condition. There is some scattered soiling throughout and wear and soiling along all of the edges of the canvas. At the left center edge there is a small area of lifting of the canvas. Under UV light, there are several areas of inpainting visible in the sky and along the left and bottom edges in particular. The area in the sky is approx. 2 in. horizontally. On verso there is a stain at upper right approx. 3 x 5 in. Additional images available upon request. The present work was authenticated by Caroline Durand-Ruel Godfroy and came with a certificate of authenticated dated December 27, 1989 Provenance: Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, inventory no. 11291, photo no. 10136, 1942. Private Collection, Saint Cloud. Aguttes, Neuilly sur Seine, sale of June 12, 2017, Lot 32 (as Mers sous le soleil, Quiberon, Morbihan and dated 1916-1918). Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner. Exhibited: Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Maxime Maufra, October - November 1942, no. 29. St. Germain-en-Laye. Musée du Prieuré, Maxime Maufra, August -November 1986, no. 33. Literature: Patrick Ramade, Maxime Maufra: un ami de Gauguin en Bretagne, Le Chasse-Marée, 1988, p. 31, pl. 48, illustrated. Lot Note: Once called the “poet of the sea,” Maxime Maufra was a French painter known primarily for his landscapes and seascapes. Born in Nantes, he began painting as a young man in his spare time, while working in his family’s business. In 1881 at the age of 20, Maufra’s parents encouraged him to travel to England to improve his English language skills, and there he came into contact with the atmospheric landscapes of Turner and Constable, which changed the course of his life and career. After returning to France, Maufra began dedicating more time to painting, increasingly en plein air, studying the changing effects of the light and atmosphere along the Loire. His inclusion in John Flornoy’s 1886 Impressionist exhibition, alongside Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissaro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, solidified his position and attracted favorable attention from art critics. Maufra’s work continued to change through his connection with the artists of Pont-Aven and, particularly once he met Paul Gauguin in 1893. Gauguin’s influence introduced Maufra to Synthetism, with its emphasis on simplified forms, strong outlines, and areas of relatively flat color. Maufra incorporated elements of Synthetism’s visual language, without fully embracing it, maintaining his own style outside of any defined school. Maufra purportedly said: “As a landscape painter, I painted what moved me, gazing at nature, attempting to express the character of what attracted me and injecting into my work the emotion I felt.”