Composition
Raoul DUFY
(French, 1877-1953)
Composition
Date1926
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsoverall: 55 1/2 x 59 1/2 in. (141 x 151.1 cm)
frame: 64 3/4 x 68 3/4 in. (164.5 x 174.6 cm)
ClassificationPAINTINGS
Credit LineSBMA, Museum Purchase with funds from the Bequest of Mrs. Alfred B. Clark
Object number1974.41
Subject(s)
- garden
- fruit
Collection
- 20th century French
On View
On viewLabel TextThe prolific and talented Dufy was a painter, set designer, ceramicist, and printmaker. An encounter with Matisse’s Fauvism in 1905, along with the 1907 Cézanne retrospective at the Salon d'Automne imprinted him early in his career. This large canvas well exemplifies his decorative style, with its high-keyed palette, calligraphic use of line, and playful lexicon of pictograph-like emblems that stand for ideas. The overall surface is animated with an abundance of signs and symbols meant to stand for the bounty of nature, from the strawberries of late summer to the harvesting of wheat and winter vegetables in the fall. The eruption of the harvest at center is enframed by a cascading waterfall to the left and a towering amphitheater made of red bricks to the right, while the sky shifts from clear blue to showers up above. Dufy’s whimsical art lent itself easily to set design, as well as large-scale architectural decorations, for which he enjoyed important public commissions.
