70. Edouard Dufeu, A Corner of A. Vollon’s Studio

ArtistEdouard Dufeu, French, Marseilles 1840–Grasse 1900
Title, DateA Corner of A. Vollon’s Studio (Un coin de l’atelier A. Vollon), not dated
MediumWatercolor
Dimensions9 13/16 × 11 7/16 in. (25 × 29 cm)
Inscriptions + MarksLower left: E. Dufeu | Lower right in ink: un coin de l’atelier A. Vollon
Provenance[Christine Bethenod, Paris, until 2013; to Weisberg]; Yvonne and Gabriel Weisberg, Minneapolis
Credit LinePromised gift of Gabriel P. and Yvonne M.L. Weisberg, Minneapolis
Figure 1Edouard Dufeu, Antoine Vollon in His Studio (Antoine Vollon dans son atelier), c. 1880, drawing as published in La Vie Moderne, April 10, 1880, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département littérature et art (4-Z-1596).

We know that Edouard Dufeu was connected to the French artist Antoine Vollon (cat. nos. 186–188), either as a follower or a student. Dufeu made several drawings that ostensibly record Vollon’s studio, and he drew the respected artist’s portrait in about 1880 (fig. 1).1 The present watercolor shows a crowded atelier featuring an elaborately framed street scene, typical of Vollon’s subjects. Vollon was also a popular still-life painter, and several objects here—a bowl of fruit, a cloth draped on a barrel—are seemingly waiting to be arranged. Vollon tended to load his still-lifes with utensils, vessels, flowers, and food. Dufeu developed this penchant as well, and his paintings are often confused with Vollon’s.

This watercolor reflects the same broad, free brush handling that characterizes Dufeu’s oils. Those works often include strong accents of hot colors that punch through a subdued overall tone, just as the lobster, apples, and gilded picture frame do here.

GPW

Notes

  1. See Émile Bergerat, “Antoine Vollon dans son atelier,” La Vie Moderne (April 10, 1880), pp. 230–31. ↩︎