PROVENANCE:
Galerie Georges Giroux, Bruxelles Collection Burthoul (March 1950)

ILLUSTRATED:
To be included in the catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre de Maurice de Vlaminck.

ÉGLISE DU VILLAGE
MAURICE DE VLAMINCK

Église du village constitutes a derivative of the fascinating interlude from Vlaminck's concentrated observation of a quiet village church. The composition is rich in elements depicting a quiet scene, as a church toppled with a conical rooftop emerges amidst botanical growths in a somber palette prevalent in Vlaminck’s artistic oeuvre of that period. The chiaroscuro effects of the swirling brushstrokes of the blue and white clouds swift above illuminating the majestic church, while the profuse application of rich pigments and the sequence of dabs and streaks rendering the shrubberies nearby in various tones of browns and greens further define dimensionality sets the tone of the painting. This mastery in projecting the stark contrast between light and dark in dabs and streaks of colours is connotative of space and brings forth the essential compositional elements of the church in this exquisite painting. The art historian and critic Jean Selz had once remarked upon the way in which Vlaminck's striking contrasts of light and shade and introduction of more sombre tones all contribute to the harmony of Vlaminck's canvas.

The present lot represents a masterful consolidation of form that is both enticing and anchoring, as the direction of the shrubbery brunch on the left creates optical direction towards the central church, inviting the viewer to ponder upon what is behind those neatly shaped rectangular and arched-shape windows of the church. It is apparent that Vlaminck had consistently explored the realms of scenery landscape, whereby many of these works are manifestations of his reality or inner emotions in responses to his artistic indulgence during the various phrases of his artistic development at a particular point in time. It differs and contrasts with the artist's Fauves canvases inspired largely by works of Van Gogh whom the artist remained a key proponent of up until the 1908, after which his palette become more monochromatic largely due to the influence and response to the works of Cézanne that he had observed at an exhibition, an encounter that constituted a significant phrase of transition in Vlaminck's artistic development. This prolific phrase subsequently extended to a fruitful personal exhibition of larger scale in 1909. In Vlaminck's latter artistic endeavors, the artist demonstrated difficulty in accepting Cubism's rise during the war in Paris when artistic modernism was undergoing a delicate transition from Fauvism to Cubism in France. In essence, Vlaminck sought to progress beyond a style much like Henri Matisse and André Derain, all whilst retaining his idiosyncratic and instinctive manner of the application of paint. Église du village is truly a remarkable work, beautifully imbued with Vlaminck's strident individual characteristics.