Sonia DELAUNAY (1885-1979) - Lot 177

Sonia DELAUNAY (1885-1979) Dancer "417 1917 Watercolor on paper Signed in pencil lower right "Sonia Delaunay, SD 417, 1917". Annotated "2" lower left 22.5 x 17 cm Provenance: Private collection, acquired in the 1980s by the current owner's parents This work is part of the Les Danseuses series, painted in Madrid in 1917, during Sonia Delaunay's stay in Spain. During this period, the artist was deeply influenced by the energy, gestures and costumes of flamenco dancers. Sonia Delaunay sought to represent movement through color. Through brushstrokes, she manages to infuse an almost choreographic dynamic into a composition composition that verges on abstraction. The work testifies to her desire to merge pictorial art and bodily expression abolishing the boundary between dance and painting. This series prefigures the Delaunays' collaboration with Serge de Diaghilev, the creator of the Ballets Russes, for whom Sonia and Robert Delaunay were to create the first ballets. for which Sonia and Robert Delaunay would create sets and costumes. Other similar works in this series are at the Centre Pompidou, donated by Sonia Delaunay in 1964. It fully illustrates the artist's ambition to use color as a vehicle for rhythm and emotion. The paper shows some pitting and a slight acidity. The sheet has been reinforced on card. Slight missing in the lower right corner. Expert: Géraldine Tailfer - ARTEMISIA Expert in 19th-20th century works of art Specialist in the work of Pierre-Puvis de Chavannes +33 (0)6 20 36 31 04 - www.arte-misia.fr