THIS OBJECT WAS SOLD
Paul Guillaume (1891-1934) - Art Critic And Painter
Paul GUILLAUME (1891-1934)
The Glass and the Bottle, circa 1925
Oil on canvas board
Signed lower right
Bears the numbers “1926” and “21” on the back
38 x 45.5 cm
Provenance : Paul Guillaume, before 1934; Domenica Walter-Guillaume (1898-1977), née Juliette Lacaze, widow of the artist; Jean Bouret (1914-1979), art critic, widower of Juliette Lacaze; Alain Bouret, son of Jean Bouret; his sale in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Thierry de Maigret, October 28, 2021, lot 117.
A key figure in the Parisian art market at the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Guillaume was introduced to the artistic elite in 1911 by his friend and mentor Guillaume Apollinaire. Very involved in the recognition of avant-garde painters, he quickly became a renowned collector and art dealer. His interest in African art flourished at the same time and echoed the aesthetic explorations of the artists he championed, including Amadeo Modigliani, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
In a letter dated March 13, 1916, addressed to Tristan Tzara, he introduced himself as follows: “I also do a lot of painting: I do it and I defend and support a few friends”[1]. Paul Guillaume’s work remains relatively unknown. His self-taught artistic practice remains on the fringes of his main activity and reveals another facet of his personality. It breaks with the audacity and eccentric character of the paintings of his close friends as perceived by the public at the beginning of the 20th century. Indeed, the artist, who defines himself as a Sunday painter[2], creates small, intimate paintings far from any avant-garde dimension. His still lifes, with their simple and moving realism, bear witness to suspended moments of life.
At the height of his fame, Paul Guillaume died prematurely at the age of 43. He remains famous for having created a unique and visionary dialogue between modern paintings and so-called “primitive” arts. Part of his personal collection is now the renown of the Musée de l’Orangerie, acquired from his widow, Domenica Walter-Guillaume, née Juliette Lacaze.
The work we are presenting was probably exhibited in London in 1934 during a monographic exhibition at the Mayor Gallery under the number 15: “the glass and the bottle”[3]. The exhibition, organized a few months before the artist’s death by a group of young English poets, brings together 29 “holiday paintings”[4]. Some of his paintings had been exhibited at the Galerie Danthon in Paris in November 1928 alongside great names in contemporary painting[5].
A still life with a plate of fruit of the same dimensions, dated 1922 and referenced under number 2 of the same exhibition catalogue from 1934 was acquired by the Musée de l'Orangerie in 2018.
[1]Letter from Paul Guillaume to Tristan Tzara, March 13, 1916, Paris Bibliothèque littéraire Jacques Doucet, Tristan Tzara collection, (TZR.0 1846)
[2]Seventh Day Artist, (London) Evening Standard, June 6, 1934.
[3]Paintings by Paul Guillaume, exhibition cat. London, The Mayor Gallery, June 5-30, 1934.
[4]Anonymous, Comœdia, May 23, 1934, n°7774, p.2.
[5]Exhibition of works by masters of contemporary painting, Paris, Galerie Danthon, Nov. 1928.
The Glass and the Bottle, circa 1925
Oil on canvas board
Signed lower right
Bears the numbers “1926” and “21” on the back
38 x 45.5 cm
Provenance : Paul Guillaume, before 1934; Domenica Walter-Guillaume (1898-1977), née Juliette Lacaze, widow of the artist; Jean Bouret (1914-1979), art critic, widower of Juliette Lacaze; Alain Bouret, son of Jean Bouret; his sale in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Thierry de Maigret, October 28, 2021, lot 117.
A key figure in the Parisian art market at the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Guillaume was introduced to the artistic elite in 1911 by his friend and mentor Guillaume Apollinaire. Very involved in the recognition of avant-garde painters, he quickly became a renowned collector and art dealer. His interest in African art flourished at the same time and echoed the aesthetic explorations of the artists he championed, including Amadeo Modigliani, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
In a letter dated March 13, 1916, addressed to Tristan Tzara, he introduced himself as follows: “I also do a lot of painting: I do it and I defend and support a few friends”[1]. Paul Guillaume’s work remains relatively unknown. His self-taught artistic practice remains on the fringes of his main activity and reveals another facet of his personality. It breaks with the audacity and eccentric character of the paintings of his close friends as perceived by the public at the beginning of the 20th century. Indeed, the artist, who defines himself as a Sunday painter[2], creates small, intimate paintings far from any avant-garde dimension. His still lifes, with their simple and moving realism, bear witness to suspended moments of life.
At the height of his fame, Paul Guillaume died prematurely at the age of 43. He remains famous for having created a unique and visionary dialogue between modern paintings and so-called “primitive” arts. Part of his personal collection is now the renown of the Musée de l’Orangerie, acquired from his widow, Domenica Walter-Guillaume, née Juliette Lacaze.
The work we are presenting was probably exhibited in London in 1934 during a monographic exhibition at the Mayor Gallery under the number 15: “the glass and the bottle”[3]. The exhibition, organized a few months before the artist’s death by a group of young English poets, brings together 29 “holiday paintings”[4]. Some of his paintings had been exhibited at the Galerie Danthon in Paris in November 1928 alongside great names in contemporary painting[5].
A still life with a plate of fruit of the same dimensions, dated 1922 and referenced under number 2 of the same exhibition catalogue from 1934 was acquired by the Musée de l'Orangerie in 2018.
[1]Letter from Paul Guillaume to Tristan Tzara, March 13, 1916, Paris Bibliothèque littéraire Jacques Doucet, Tristan Tzara collection, (TZR.0 1846)
[2]Seventh Day Artist, (London) Evening Standard, June 6, 1934.
[3]Paintings by Paul Guillaume, exhibition cat. London, The Mayor Gallery, June 5-30, 1934.
[4]Anonymous, Comœdia, May 23, 1934, n°7774, p.2.
[5]Exhibition of works by masters of contemporary painting, Paris, Galerie Danthon, Nov. 1928.
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