Galerie L'Effort Moderne (Léonce Rosenberg), Paris (avant 1927)
Galerie Klewan, Munich
Vente : Sotheby's, Londres, 3 décembre 1986, lot 250
Collection particulière
Vente : Ader, Tajan, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 18 novembre 1989, lot 124
Collection particulière
Vente : Christie's, Londres, 8 février 2005, lot 297
Acquis lors de cette vente par le propriétaire actuel

Joann Moser, Jean Metzinger in Retrospect, University of Iowa, 1985, no. 226, reproduit p. 119

Please note that measurements in inches are incomplete in the printed catalogue and should read 36 3/8 x 25 3/8 in. The canvas is strip-lined. There is a very minor web of stable craquelures, mostly to the white pigment. Inspection uder UV light reveals a 10cm line of retouching running along and round the lower left corner and eight minor stains of retouching in the lower left quadrant. There is a 2x1cm area of retouching in the upper part of the yellow pigment, towards the centre of the left edge. There are some minor scattered spots of retouching to the blue pigment in the upper left quadrant as well as a very small stain of retouching in the same area. There are also very few minor spots of retouching scattered along the right edge. Apart from a 1mm spot of retouching to the head of the portrait this work is in 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."

signed 'Metzinger'  (lower right), oil on canvas. Painted circa 1927.

Peint vers 1927, Anachronisme est exemplaire de la "purification" ou simplification formelle qui caractérise les œuvres post-cubistes de Metzinger élaborées de 1922 à 1930. L'équilibre et l'éclat de cette nature morte sur une table, principalement élaborée par aplats de couleurs primaires pures, vient se substituer aux éléments  des  œuvres cubistes antérieures. L'apparence décorative de cette œuvre est toutefois subtilement contrebalancée par la juxtaposition inédite d'objets apparemment incompatibles corroborée par le mystère qui se dégage du titre Anachronisme induisant nécessairement une notion complexe de temporalité : la déconcertante présence du successif et du simultané. Ainsi un profil féminin anonyme délicatement peint et encadré est présenté aux côtés d'une rose à demi cachée suggèrant l'idée d'une narration. La multiplicité des champs perspectifs ainsi que le ൲traitement quelque peu abstrait du fond sont les uniques vestiges des préceptes cubistes dans cette nature morte figurativ🌃e d'où se dégage une mystérieuse harmonie.

 

Painted circa 1927, L'Anachronisme is a fine example of the gradual purification and simplification of form that characterises Metzinger's post-cubist œuvre of 1922-30. The balance and clarity of this still life composition on a table, painted primarily in pure, flat primary colours, replaces the activity and detail of earlier cubist works. The strongly decorative appearance of the present work is counterbalanced however by the artist's unusual juxtaposition of seemingly disparate objects and the mystery inherent in the title, Anachronisme, which necessarily suggests a complex notion of duration: the learned confounding of the successive and the simultaneous. Thus a narrative surrounding the car🌠efully traced and framed profile of the anonymous woman and the half-concealed rose is both suggested and denied. The multiple perspectives of the tabletop and somewhat abstract handling of the background are the only traces of Cubist devices that remain in an otherwise representational still life which nevertheless retains a sense of harmony and even mystery.