Raoul Dufy

(1877 – 1953)

The presence of two works by Raoul Dufy in Jean Planque’s collection reflects not only his marked early fondness for the artist’s work but also the fact that as a collaborator of the Galerie Beyeler he took an active part in getting that oeuvre more widely known, in particular through an exhibition in the gallery’s Baumleingasse premises in Basel in 1957. Moreover, the choice of this canvas is a measure of Planque’s high standards and coherent vision. The painting is a somber, brutal seascape far removed from the affected elegance that undercuts Dufy’s painting from time to time. The brushstrokes are hurried, vibrant; they seemed to snatch luminous reflections from the powerful mass of the blues that make up the monochrome background. Jean Planque was particularly receptive to the zestful, even rudimentary lines, the muted resonance of the colors that propel the spectator’s eye across the surface of the canvas and force it to participate in the painter’s enterprise, his effort to translate the elements and the complexity of his art into visual terms.