Le Compte de Breteau, Paris
Hilde Gerst, New York
Acqui🌊red from the above by the present owner in 1978

Work is in very good condition. Canvas is lightly lined and the surface retains a rich impasto. Under UV light: one nailheaed sized spot of inpainting at extreme upper left corner and another nailhead spot at center of lower right quadrant. Otherwise fine.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Best known for his resplendent landscapes and vivid flower compositions, Louis Valtat was to become a highly-regarded painter of the Post-Impressionist period. Having absorbed the chief tenets of classical Impressionism and Pointillism in the 1890s, Valtat was both intrigued and influenced by contemporaries such as Matisse, Marquet, Camoin, Manguin, Vlaminck, Derain, Dufy and Van Dongen, with whom he exhibited at the famous Salon d'Automne of 1905.  The present work, executed circa 1896, is an incredibly strong example of his Post-Impressionist style with its vivid color and strong brush 🧸work, evocative of the soon-to-be Fauves.

As Sarah Whitfield notes, "Louis Valtat, whose color appears to float on the surface of the canvas, is another painter somewhat loosely bracketed with the Fauves. Both Valtat, who like Matisse was born in 1869, and Seyssaud, who was two years older, belonged to the generation of painters who understood the picture surface to be primarily a flat piece of canvas covered with areas of paint" (Sarah Whitfield, Fauvism, London, 1991, p. 28).  These "areas of paint" were charged with evocative color in an attempt ꦜto enlighten the canvas and seduce the spectator.  The pres🦂ent work is a poignant example, a stunning synthesis of simplicity of form and exuberant luminosity.