Raoul DUFY (1877-1953) - Lot 171

Raoul DUFY (1877-1953) Mercury and the oxen of Jupiter - Allegory of the painting trade. Circa 1938. Oil on plaster transferred to canvas. Signed lower right. H. 42 x W. 50 cm. Accompanied by a certificate from Madame Fanny Guillon-Laffaille dated January 9, 2013. This work, created between 1935 and 1938 by Raoul Dufy, was discovered in early 2010. The work was painted on the wall by the artist in a room located at 8 rue de la Boétie, now transformed into an office, which was once a gallery where influential artists of the time gathered. The work was deposited and transposed onto canvas by the Bernard DEPRETZ workshops under the direction of Madame Guillon-Laffaille, a specialist in the artist's work. This installation of a work painted directly on the wall is reminiscent of Paul Gauguin's L'oie (The Goose), now in the Quimper museum and once on the walls of a restaurant in Le Pouldu. It was during impromptu meetings in this small gallery on rue de la Boëtie that Raoul Dufy painted this work.