Raoul Dufy: Painter of Life and Joy
Raoul Dufy is one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th Century. Praised for his depictions of French and English society, his work reflects their world of chateaux, boating regattas, race meetings and concerts.
Born in Le Havre in 1887, Dufy spent his early years looking out on the boats in the harbour and the bourgeoisie promenading along the shore. On moving to Paris with his childhood friend Othon Friesz in 1900, he was, through the introduction of Georges Braque, a fellow native of Le Havre, thrust into a very different city. Paris was filled with endless opportunities for entertainment and on the verge of societal change. It was these fervent environments, brimming with life, that provided the inspiration for his art.
Dufy’s vibrant brushwork, vivid colour palette and precocious talent ensured his success. Alongside his fauve contemporaries, Henri Matisse, André Derain and Braque, he forged a revolution in the use of colour, breaking from the strictures of the Paris Salon. The Salon deemed what was considered acceptable in fine art and favoured the classical, a sentiment that Dufy rejected in his embrace of innovative pictorial structures and expressive line. Dufy’s practice was radical in that he treated colour separately from subject matter, abandoned perspective and embraced decoration.
Emerging from the destruction of the First World War, Dufy’s work offered a sense of optimism and relief to a society that had undergone so much trauma. His paintings focus upon life’s pleasures, a subject that over the years artists have tended to shy away from. It raises questions as to why introspection is now often held in higher regard than conviviality, particularly when much of today’s media is based on aspirational imagery.
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Raoul DufySainte-Adresse, 1924Oil on canvas25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in, 65.4 x 81 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower right
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Raoul DufyLe Cirque, 1934Oil on canvas23 5/8 x 31 7/8 in, 60 x 81 cmSigned and dated ‘Raoul Dufy 1934’ lower right
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Raoul DufyVers le départ, 1938Gouache and watercolour on paper19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in, 50 x 65.2 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower centre
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Raoul DufySt James's Palace, 1936Oil on canvas33 x 41 cm / 13 x 16 1/2 inTitled, signed and dated 'St James's Palace, Raoul Dufy, 1936' lower centreSold
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Raoul DufyLa Maison des canotiers, 1921Oil on canvas23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in, 60 x 73 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower left
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Raoul DufyCourses à Deauville, c. 1940Gouache on paper19 7/8 x 26 5/8 in, 49.8 x 66.7 cmSigned ‘Raoul Dufy’ lower right
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Raoul DufyHommage à Claude Lorrain, c.1926Watercolour on paper19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in, 50 x 65 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower leftSold
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Raoul DufyLe Château de Chambord, 1934Watercolour and gouache on paper18 7/8 x 25 1/4 in, 48 x 64 cmSigned, dated, and dedicated ‘à mon vieux Gir’ lower edgeSold
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Raoul DufyLe Départ pour la soirée, 1936Gouache and watercolour on paper19 7/8 x 26 in, 50.6 x 66 cmSigned ‘Raoul Dufy’ lower left
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Raoul DufyLe Repas des chasseurs, 1936Gouache on paper19 7/8 x 25 3/4 in, 50.5 x 65.5 cmSigned ‘Raoul Dufy’ lower left
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Raoul DufyRoses Rouges, 1941Watercolour and gouache on paper19 3/4 x 25 3/4 in
50 x 65.5 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy 1941' lower right -
Raoul DufyScène de dépicage, le repas, c.1946Pencil on paper18 1/2 x 24 3/8 in, 47 x 62 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower left
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Raoul Dufy, Leda et le cygne, c.1930
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Raoul DufyTribunes à Epsom, 1938Pen and Indian ink on paper19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in, 50 x 65 cmSigned 'Raoul Dufy' lower rightSold
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Raoul DufyChevaux au pré à Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper5 1/2 x 6 1/2 in
14 x 16.6 cm -
Raoul DufyCarnaval à Nice, la parade, c. 1934Pencil on paper18 x 20.4 cm, 7 3/32 x 8 1/32 inStamped 'RD' lower leftSold
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Raoul DufyCarnaval à Nice, le défilé, c. 1934Pencil on paper18 x 20.4 cm, 7 3/32 x 8 1/32 inStamped 'RD' lower left
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Raoul DufyBataille de fleurs à Nice à la calèche, c. 1934Pencil on paper15 x 20.4 cm, 5 29/32 x 8 1/32 inStamped 'RD' lower rightSold
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Raoul DufyCinq chevaux et lads, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 5 1/2 in
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyJument, poulin, deux personnages, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 6 1/4 in
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyTrois personnages aux courses, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 6 1/4 inSold
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyJockey et cheval de dos, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 6 1/4 in
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyCheval de dos et son jockey, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 inSold
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyCheval de dos, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 inSold
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyEtude de cheval, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyDeux jockeys de dos, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyChevaux à Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyCheval et turfistes à Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 inSold
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyJockey à la casaque, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in
14 x 8.3 cm -
Raoul DufyChevaux à Deauville et Drapeau, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 5 1/2 in
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyJument, poulain et lad, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 5 1/2 in, 8.3 x 14 cmSold
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Raoul DufyScène de Paddock II, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 5 1/2 inSold
8.3 x 14 cm -
Raoul DufyChevaux, jockeys et turfistes, Deauville, 1941Pencil on paper3 1/4 x 6 1/4 inSold
8.3 x 14 cm