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Le casino de Nice aux deux vasques captures a landmark of pleasure on the
Côte d'Azur, filled with the vibrant colour and energetic line that defined Dufy's
optimistic vision of life in the Third Republic. Dufy returned often to this subject
of the famous 'La Jetée-Promenade' casino, even after it was dismantled in 1944
by German troops for scrap mental. Captivated by the iconic latticework and
domes of the oriental palace, which was built upon stilts on the beach, Dufy
recreates the performance of gambling and hedonistic atmosphere of the
casino through blocks of dazzling cobalt blue, red and soft pink.
This work was first acquired by Curt Valentin, the prominent German-born
American art dealer authorized by the Nazi Party to sell 'Degenerate Art'
in New York. Valentin, who was Jewish, fled to America in 1937 where he
established an outpost of the Buchholz gallery. Valentin is now regarded as one
of the most influential dealers of modern art in the 20th century, having sold
iconic works to public collections such as MoMA and the Guggenheim.
A comparable casino work can now be found in the Musée d'Art Moderne
de la Ville de Paris.
Le casino de Nice aux deux vasques, c.1930
Signed lower left 'Raoul Dufy'
Oil on canvas
18 1/8 x 21 3/4 in, 46 x 55.4 cm
Provenance
Buchholz Gallery (Cur t Valentin), New York
E&R Cyzer Gallery, London
Private collection, Spain
Literature
Geneva, Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Tome II, 1973, p.28, no.438 (illus.)
