28 - Alain Bonnefoit (born 1937)

Alain Bonnefoit (born 1937) Nude, June 1990 Ink (sumi-e) and watercolor Hand-signed and dated in the lower left: “A. Bonnefoit, 06.90”; inscribed in the lower right: “For Christine and Yves Guérin, with all my friendship” Dimensions: Sheet 29.7 × 21 cm (11 ⅝ × 8 ¼ in.) — Image: nearly full sheet Condition: good condition, unframed Provenance: Yves Guérin’s guestbook, compiled between 1963 and 1992 (provenance from a single collection). Interesting connection: Bonnefoit was a student and friend of the sculptor Antoniucci Volti (No. 25 in this album)—both the master and the student are thus featured in the guestbook. Description: A seated female nude viewed from the front, her body outlined with a fluid ink line drawn in a single stroke over soft watercolor washes—gray-blue in the background, reddish-brown accents on either side, ochre hair, and pale, velvety skin. Alain Bonnefoit is one of the leading figures of the École de Paris, internationally renowned for the female nude, which has been his favorite subject for forty years; a student and friend of the sculptor Volti, who instilled in him a passion for the female form, he has mastered the Japanese sumi-e technique, using ink in a single stroke. Signed, dated, and inscribed by hand.