Sale: Lombrail, Enghien-les-Bains, June 16, 1985, lot 79 bis
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Denise Bazetoux, Henri Lebasque, Catalogue raisonné, vol. I, Neuilly-Sur-Marne, 2008, no. 964, illustrated p. 248

Work is in excellent condition. The canvas is not lined. Some thin stable cracks just below center of composition in the thickest white pigments. Canvas is very slightly buckling in upper left corner. Three tiny pinholes at extreme upper right corner. Under UV light: Four pin dots of retouching at lower right corner as well as a few small pindots at upper right and two small strokes just below the upper right corner.
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.

Painted circa 1928, the carefully modelled tones and intimate, inviting atmosphere of Femme nue allongée are quintessentially Lebasque. His female nude reclines on her💦 front with her arms crossed beneath her head and her face angled towards the artist, and thus the viewer, to whom she shyly directs her gaze. Throughout his career, Lebasque demonstrates a disinclination to direct his models to pose, preferring instead to observe their natural movements; thus the present work retai♚ns the informal vitality for which the artist is known.

 

In Femme nue allongée, Lebasque establishes an exquisite juxtaposition between the soft blue tones of the inanimate background and the delicate rose tints with which he brings to life the model's creamy skin. As Lisa Banner notes, "He was hailed as the painter of 'Joy and Light' by art critics and curators of the Louvre in his later life. But Lebasque's primary concerns were with simple expression of sensuous surface" (Lisa Banner, Lebasque, 1865-1937, San Francisco, 1985, p. 20).