Madame Victor Brauner, Paris
Alexander Iolas, New York
Sale: Christie's, London, 24th June 1997, lot 344
Galerie Renos Xippas, Paris
Private Collection, Switzerland (sale: Sotheby’s New York, 8th May 2008, lot 359)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Victor Brauner: Peintures 1963-1964, 1965, no. 24
Vienna, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts and Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Victor Brauner, 1965, no. 179
Hagen, Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Victor Brauner, 1965, n.n.
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Victor Brauner, 1965, no. 176
Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Victor Brauner (1913-1966), 1972, no. 179

The canvas is not lined and examination under UV light reveals no signs of retouching. There are some spots of pigment loss to the extreme edges. Otherwise this work is in overall 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."

The present work is a wonderful example of some of Victor Brauner's most iconic artistic elements. His œuvre is characterised by an intrinsic ambience of mystery and naivety that comes from his lifelong fascination for primitive art, particularly that of Egypt and Africa. Upon returning to Paris following World War II, his paintings incorporated symbols based on Tarot cards, hieroglyphics and Mayan codices.  Alain Jouffroy has argued that his primitive aesthetic was not simply 'an aesthetic and formal borrowing' but that it also corresponded to 'a desire to overcome European traditions' (Alain Jouffrroy, 'Victor Brauner: Beyond Surrealism' in Victor Brauner (exhibition catalogue), Didier Imbert Fine Art, Paris, 1990, p. 24). Brauner was particularly interested in the ritual and symbolic qualities inherent in primitive art, qualities which he successfully transferred to the present work. Hybrids are a recurrent motif in Brauner's œuvre and indeed animals always play a particularly symbolic role. Le Lien secret is a perfect illustration of such symbolism, and in the words as the artist said himself, 'when I paint animals, I identify with them, it's as simple as that [...] a bird means, either you should be a bird, or you were a bird. If you are a bird, you are free' (quoted in Victor Brauner (exhibition catalogue), Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1972, pp. 84-85, translated from French).

The reduction of the figure to its most essential form, together with the symbolism of the animals, give this work an intrinsic universality, a quality which unifies much of the artist's œuvre. Remarking upon Brauner's work in general, Alain Jouffroy has argued that 'by its connections with the symbolic systems of various civilizations, it went beyond the traditional dichotomies between the old and the new, the West and the East, spontaneous dreams and reasoned criticism and [...] "the abstract" and "the figurative"' (Alain Jouffroy, op. cit., p. 8).



The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Samy Kinge.