Perls Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the late owner in 1953

Cleveland Museum of Art (on loan, 1994)

The canvas is lined. There is a thick varnish through which the UV light cannot fully penetrate but no retouching appears to be visible under UV light. There is a small 3cm. scratch to the centre left edge of the boat's hull, probably intrinsic. Apart from two small areas of paint abrasion to the top two corners, this work is in very good condition.
"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."

In March 1901, Vlaminck saw an exhibition of Van Gogh's work at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris, which was to play an important role in the development of his own style. Vlaminck soon made use of vibrant, non-naturalistic color, boldly applied in flattened patterns which would became the hallmark of Fauvism. As Vlaminck himself proclaimed, 'In him (Van Gogh) I found some of my own aspirations. Probably from the similar Nordic affinities? And as well as revolutionary fervour, and almost religious feeling for the interpretation of nature. I came out of this retrospective exhibition shaken to the core' (quoted in  J. Freeman, ed., The Fauve Landscape (exhibition catalogue), Los Angeles, 1990, p. 21). Shortly thereafter, Vlaminck and Derain launched a collaboration that culminated in the 𒐪brilliant masterpieces of the Fauve movement.

The main focus of Péniche sur la Rivière is the large boat  that dominates the foreground, and restricts the viewer's gaze from the rest of the river. The shimmering effect of light on t🌄he water𝐆, rendered in overlapping strokes of white, light blue and turquoise hues reflect the white clouds above. Vlaminck's typical employment of brilliant reds begins in the long slashlike strokes of the boat in the foreground and then leaps to the background structures of the roofs of the distant houses, bracketing the predominately cool tones with hot accents.

While the exact location depicted in the present work remains unknown, Vlaminck painted the Seine many times during his productive Fauve period. 'It was in painting the banks of the Seine,' Vlaminck would later recall, 'that I tried to represent the emotion that seized hold of me when faced by this landscape....  It can only have been the extraordinarily strong and powerful enthusiasm felt by my twenty-year-old self, the rush of life that I experienced at that time, that enabled me to transpose this banal subject [the Seine], through a blaze of colour, into fierce realism and exuberant picturesque!' (quoted in Maïthé Vallès-Bled, Vlaminck, Catalogue critique des peintures et céramiques de la période fauve, Paris, 2008, p. 361).

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The 🥂left bank of the Seine between Chatou 𒉰and Nanterre