Galerie Marseille, Paris
Jeanne & Fernand Moch, Paris (thence by descent and sold: Christie's, Paris, May 22, 2012, lot 14)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Fondation Maeght, À la rencontre de Matisse, 1969, no. 2

In generally good condition. The canvas is unlined. The work is floating in its frame and the edge has been wrapped with black tape. The surface is clean. The work is brighter, brushier and more vibrant in the original than in the catalogue illustration, and especially pinker in the pinks overall. There is a faint horizontal indentation starting at the upper left corner that goes across the work on a diagonal, to about 3 inches below the upper right corner. This a more noticable in raking light and there are small specks of restoration along this line. There are some thin cracks to the work, near the tree trunk of the left edge, for example, but these seem stable. Under U.V, several dots of inpainting fluoresce corresponding to sevearl small paint losses at the upper left corner and a few spots in the center.
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.

Matisse painted Paysage de Corse in 1898, a year of radical stylistic evolution in his oeuvre, leaving little trace of the hand that executed his early masterpiece La desserte just one year prior. Many of these changes coincide with his retreat from Paris, for he spent most of the year in the magical environs of the South of France and Corsica. This peaceful and vibrant landscape reveals the influence of several of the greatest artists of this period, including Cézanne, Gauguin and even J.M.W. Turner.

During his honeymoon in London in 1898, on the eve of his departure for Corsica, Matisse was advised by Camille Pissarro to view the Turners in the National Gallery. One can perceive the British master’s influence on Matisse’s handling of paint which, like in Turner’s paintings, evokes a dreamlike sense of beauty that is still rooted in reality. The seemingly wild, rapid brushstrokes and bold colors both contribute to the construction of this utopian landscape, yet the subtle nuances of light and shade are clearly drawn from real observation. Indeed, Matisse considered his art to be, "a mediation on nature, on the expression of a dream inspired by reality," while at the same time he held that a, “rapid rendering of a landscape represents only one moment of its existence. [He preferred], by insisting upon its essential character, to risk losing charm in order to gain greater stability” (quoted in Pierre Schneider, Matisse, London, 1984, pp. 60 & 73).