543 - Georges Braque (1882 Argenteuil-sur-Seine – Paris 1963)

Georges Braque (1882 Argenteuil-sur-Seine – Paris 1963) Anémones et citron Pastel, brush, and ink over pencil on black vellum. (c. 1925). Approx. 30 x 35.5 cm. Signed lower left. Accompanied by a photo certificate signed by the artist on May 13, 1953. • Floral still life from Braque’s important creative phase of the 1920s • A dynamic interplay of vibrant colors and an earth-toned background • An original further development of the Cubist formal language in an expressive work on paper In Georges Braque’s “Anémones et citron,” a bouquet of flowers in delicate shades of pink, violet, and cream unfolds against a warm, brownish background. The vivid blue-green of the foliage and a bright yellow lemon create striking contrasts. Dark outlines and areas of color with varying textures lend the composition its lively rhythm. Dated around 1925, this work belongs to an important phase of Braque’s career. Following the prewar Cubist experiments he developed together with Pablo Picasso, Braque found his way to an increasingly independent visual language in the 1920s. The still life became a central focus of his artistic exploration. The extensive deconstruction of forms gave way to greater representationalism, a richer color palette, and a new emphasis on the material appearance of objects. In “Anémones et citron,” too, his engagement with Cubism remains clearly recognizable. Braque dispenses with a uniform perspectival representation of space and instead develops the composition from overlapping planes, shifting directions, and varying patterns. Organic forms stand alongside geometrically structured sections, while light contours and intense color contrasts connect the individual elements of the painting. Provenance: Dalzell Hatfield Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Welz, Salzburg; Private collection, Austria, acquired from the aforementioned gallery around 2009. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).