Paysage

The Association des Amis d'Henri Hayden has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

Henri Hayden’s Paysage of 1920 is a large and colourful example of the artist’s distinct form of Synthetic Cubism. Here, planes of colour overlap and collide to create a dynamic vision of a landscape. Just as his friends and colleagues, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque had also done, Hayden has rendered this scene from multiple viewpoints, presenting a vibrant snapshot of the rural scene. Like a series of playful, yet elusive visual clues, a number of representational elements – the terracotta roof tiles, green flecked grass, arching structure of a bridge perhaps, as well as in the foreground, a plane of rippling water – allow the viewer to build up a composite image of the vista presented. Surrounded by a trompe l’oeuil frame, decorated with the ‘confetti’ flecks of paint that are echoed in the body of the composition, Paysage also sees Hayden revel in texture, using a variety of different strokes and methods of paint application to further aid in the pictorial construction of the work.

Paysage was originally owned by Hayden’s dealer, Léonce Rosenberg. A fervent supporter of Cubism, Rosenberg was one of the leading protagonists of the wartime Parisian art world, instigating a number of strategies in order to defend, propound and market this movement to an international audience. Introduced to Rosenberg by Gris and Metzinger, Hayden had signed a contract with Rosenberg in 1916, joining a stable of artists that included Braque, Léger and Gris, as well as Metzinger, Severini and Herbin among others. He had a one-man show at the Galerie L’Effort Moderne in December 1919, which helped to solidify his artistic renown.

After Rosenberg, Paysage was later acquired by Charles William Fearnley France, a British businessman and Danish furniture manufacturer during the post-war era. C.W.F. France pioneered partnerships with leading Danish designers, ensuring their work could be manufactured and exported internationally. France was crucial in establishing the trend and market for modern Danish furniture that continues to exist to this day.
Post Lot Text
Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot. You must pay us an extra amount equal to the resale royalty and we will pay the royalty to the appropriate authority. Please see the Conditions of Sale for further information.