Marcel Dyf – Bouquet Of Flowers In A Blue Vase – 66.5 Cm X 49 Cm - Signed

Marcel DYF (1899–1985)
Bouquet of Flowers in a Blue Vase
Oil on hardboard mounted on a wooden panel
Signed lower right “Dyf”
Dimensions: 66.5 × 49 cm — 88 × 71 cm with frame
Very good condition

A generous, colorful bouquet spills out of a midnight-blue vase resting on a table covered with a pink-and-terracotta-checkered tablecloth. Peonies, dahlias, daisies, and wildflowers mingle in a profusion of soft pinks, luminous yellows, touches of red, and blues.

The brushwork is free and thick, applied with broad strokes that give the petals depth and make the light shimmer. The brown and green background, rendered in a more subdued manner, highlights the bouquet without competing with it. The work is painted on Isorel—a hardwood fiberboard—which is itself mounted (marouflé) onto a wooden panel, making it particularly stable.

With its dimensions (66.5 × 49 cm), this bouquet stands out from most of the artist’s floral still lifes, which are often painted on a smaller scale. This scale, combined with a dense and richly colored composition, gives the work a real presence: the bouquet fully occupies the space and commands the viewer’s attention.

Flower bouquets are among Dyf’s most beloved subjects, and this one captivates with its treatment: a profusion of colors and a vigorous brushwork, freer and more assertive than in many of his other floral compositions. It reflects the sensibility of Renoir, whom the artist so greatly admired.

Condition and Presentation
Very good overall condition. Work mounted on a rigid, stable support (Isorel mounted on wood). Presented in a modern frame made of molded, patinated wood, in very good condition, with a passe-partout.

The Artist
Marcel Dyf, whose real name was Marcel Dreyfus, was born in Paris on October 7, 1899, into a family of industrialists of Alsatian origin. Intended for a career in engineering—which he studied at the École des Arts et Métiers—he discovered his true calling during a stay in Morocco: captivated by the light and the landscapes, he chose to devote himself entirely to painting.

Around 1923, he moved to the South of France, first to Arles and then to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he would remain for some twenty years, painting scenes of Arlesian and Camargue folklore. After the war and his involvement in the Resistance, he married Claudine in 1954, then settled in Bois d’Arcy in 1959, where he worked until his death on September 15, 1985.

Unconcerned with the artistic trends of his time, Dyf cultivated a luminous style of painting rooted in Impressionism and marked by the influence of Renoir. Flowers, portraits of women, and landscapes of Provence and Brittany were his favorite subjects. Represented since 1955 by the London gallery Frost and Reed, he enjoyed significant international recognition. His works are included, notably, in the collections of the Museon Arlaten in Arles and the Smith College Museum of Art in Massachusetts.

Work on view at the gallery (07240)
Shipping: Please contact us for shipping costs within France and internationally.