250 - Robert Vernet-Bonfort (1934–2017)

Robert Vernet-Bonfort (1934–2017) Bouquet of Flowers, 1967 Gouache and watercolor, with white highlights Dedicated, signed, and dated by hand at the bottom edge: “For Mr. and Mrs. Yves Guérin, with my deepest sympathy,” signed “Vernet-Bonfort,” dated “67” Dimensions: Sheet 29.7 × 21 cm (11 ⅝ × 8 ¼ in.) — Image: full sheet Condition: good condition, unframed Provenance: Yves Guérin’s guestbook, compiled between 1963 and 1992 (from a single collection). Description: A sumptuous bouquet—sunflowers, daisies, a red rose, spikes of blue delphinium, and assorted flowers—in a rounded white vase on a dark table, set against a radiant golden-ochre background, rendered in watercolor and gouache with highlights of white. Robert Vernet-Bonfort was a French painter and lithographer, born in Marseille and trained at its École des Beaux-Arts; profoundly deaf, he made painting his language, and he is known above all for his still lifes featuring “explosions of color,” prized for the finesse of their execution and composition. Regarded as a Provençal master of international renown, he received the Grand Prix from the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation (Montreal, 1965). An early (1967) and particularly accomplished example of his favorite floral subject. Signed, dated, and inscribed by hand.