Sonia Delaunay, Paris
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner circa 1975

The mosaic is in very good condition. Apart from some scuffs to the wood, and some small chips mostly towards the edges and the legs of the table, this work is in very good condition. Colours: overall fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Born in the Ukraine in 1885, Sonia Delaunay, along with her husband Robert, developed a new colourful version of Cubism in 1913, called Orphism by Guillaume Apollunaire. This table, which once furnished Sonia Delaunay's home, was executed after one of the artist's paintings, Rythme Coloré, an oil on canvas from 1952. It was the only painting that Sonia Delaunay chose to show at the 1952 Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, an exhibiting society devoted to pure abstract art, founded in Paris in 1946 with the help of Sonia Delaunay, and which continues to this day. In its first manifesto of 1948, the Salon defined its raison d'être: the promotion of non-figurative abstract art which is 'not linked to the world of outside appearances...a certain space filled with interconnected lines, shapes, surfaces, colours." The painting, and therefore the table itself, brilliantly exemplify this statement, and embody the dynamic energy and structural sophistication of Delaunay's Rythmes Colorés.

Inspired by the ideas that the French chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul developed in De la loi du contraste simultané des couleurs et de l'assortiment des objets colorés, Delaunay used pure colours and simple forms. Here, the monumentality of the composition, associated with the contrasts of the strong blues, reds and blacks against the vibrant yellow create a striking resonance reminiscent of the works of Mondrian.

As discussed by Sherry Buckberrough, "Sonia Delaunay's simultaneous colours capture the imagination between the beats of changing rhythmic orders. Yet, those colours present far more than the imaginings of a single mind. Her art expresses the fullness and complexity of creation and of life" (S. Buckberrough, Sonia Delaunay, a retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Albright-Knox Art ꦬGallery🌞, Buffalo, 1980, p. 11).