3477 - Varlin (born Willy Guggenheim)

Varlin (born Willy Guggenheim) 1900 Zurich – 1977 Bondo Café on the Place Forum in Arles. 1938 Oil (partially over newspaper) on canvas Framed 65 × 73.5 cm Paola Tedeschi-Pellanda/Patrizia Guggenheim, Varlin. Catalog Raisonné of Paintings, Zurich 2000, p. 60, no. 246 (with illustration) The work on offer is part of a series of paintings created during Varlin’s stays in the south of France in the late 1930s. It depicts a bustling street café on the Place du Forum in Arles. The large green-and-yellow awning occupies nearly the upper half of the painting and, with its bold colors, forms the dominant focal point of the composition. Beneath it, the patrons are engrossed in lively conversation. Against the cool blue of the shade, the brown wooden chairs and the figures stand out, rhythmically interrupting the flow of color. Although rendered with sketchy brushstrokes, the figures retain their individual characterization, particularly evident in the woman seated on the right, who is calmly knitting. What at first appears to be a casually captured snapshot of urban life turns out to be a carefully composed scene. The extension of the awning, the rhythmic arrangement of the figures, and the high-contrast interplay of colors lend the everyday café scene a striking formal order. The combination of painterly spontaneity, precise observation, and compositional density reveals Varlin’s unique perspective on reality. Auction date: November 28, 2026 Approximate auction time: 6:12 p.m. CET