Valminck’s early work appears as vibrant as ever in this comprehensive survey in Paris, writes David Platzer.
David Platzer,
Sunday, 22nd June 2008
By this time, Vlaminck had discovered Cézanne, an influence that was to be as pervasive as Van Gogh’s had been. He was also in touch with the Cubists, like him associated with Vollard’s young protégé Kahnweiler. Colour gave way to geometry and the palette grew distinctly duller, to a point where it is hard to believe that the same man painted the earlier and later pictures. There are still some fascinating pictures from these later years, such as Village (1913, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester), with its muted blues, yellows and greys, the Vins, Liqueurs (1910, Private collection), brilliantly composed, and Vlaminck’s own pale, bowler-hatted self-portrait (1911, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris). Still, the mood is sombre and disquieting, as if Vlaminck sensed the party was over and that a war he would hate and try to have as little to do with as possible was on the way.
The exhibition is concise and well-presented. The same goes for the catalogue, with its informative articles and ample illustrations. It is smaller than usual in these days, which makes it light both to carry and on the budget.
David Platzer is a freelance writer living in France.
‘Vlaminck: Un Instinct Fauve’, Musée de Luxembourg, Paris, 20 February -20 July (+33 1 42342595). Catalogue by Maïthé Vallès-Bled (ed.), ISBN 9788861306844 (paper), 35 (Skira/sVo).
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