TAKANORI OGUISS (1901-1986)
Marchand de couleurs ('Sunlight Savon')
signed 'Oguiss' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'Marchand de couleur [sic] Oguiss 103 rue de Vaugirard Paris 6e' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
60 x 73cm (23 5/8 x 28 3/4in).
Painted circa 1929-1932
Footnotes:
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Emiko Oguiss Halpern. This work will be included in the forthcoming Takanori Oguiss catalogue raisonné, currently being prepared by Les Amis d'Oguiss.

Provenance
Private collection, South Australia; their sale, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 3 November 1976, lot 208.
Private collection, Melbourne (acquired at the above sale).

Intent on offering a candid and unpretentious glimpse into the heart of Paris, Takanori Oguiss delighted in its quaint and humble urban landscapes. He did not embellish imperfect details, in fact, he revelled in them, the battered brickwork, tattered placards, and weathered walkways. His work reminisces on the blueprint of Paris in its twilight years, prior to the assembling of glossy apartment blocks, shopping centres and wide boulevards. The physical remnants of wear in his scenes therefore evoke a nostalgia for old Paris, now a dim and distant memory. Peering into the crumbled and cluttered exterior of an ordinary Montparnasse shop, Marchand de Couleurs bears testament to this. Even the distorted perspective of the scene alludes to the meandering alleyways, now concealed within the arrondissements of contemporary Paris.

In the present work, Oguiss sketches en plein air and forms a rich impasto layer, applying his paint in thick strokes and quick daubs. This creates a sense of urgency, an attempt to capture a scene on the brink of change. Though there appear to be no figures within this cropped composition, the shopfront is bursting with life. On display is an eclectic mix of colourful hardware tools and painting utensils, combined with flashy advertisements, hand-painted onto wooden blocks. Oguiss presents a charming local scene, with a variety of goods crammed into worn wooden cabinets, while the excess dangle in clusters from the awning.

Declared the epicentre of Modern Art, Paris in the early twentieth century became a magnet for artists all over the world, including Oguiss. Born in Inazawa, Japan in 1901, he first studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts where he participated in numerous exhibitions. However, 1927 marked a pivotal shift in his artistic career, as he ventured to Montparnasse, Paris. As a pupil of Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, he swiftly became an integral member of the Parisian avant-garde and began working in one of the ateliers of the 'Montmartre aux artistes'. He frequented La Ruche, a popular space for young artists, while also participating in esteemed exhibitions such as the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants. Through his work, Oguiss sought to emulate the artists of the École de Paris, in particular Maurice Utrillo and Maurice de Vlaminck. This is evident in Marchand de Couleurs, as he employs a quintessential Post-Impressionist oil technique with his thick application of paint, patterned brush strokes and vivid colour. What is striking however is that he combines this with the renowned Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, a celebration of the imperfect and impermanent. The work therefore exists as a compelling fusion of aesthetics and attests to twentieth century Paris, as a concoction of cultures, in a period of flux.
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Frame rubbing to the outer edges, with some historic areas of wax visible to the margins, possibly to stabilise the frame rubbing. Artist's pinholes to the upper left, upper right and lower right corners. Two small tears to the upper right and lower right quadrants, with associated restoration visible (verso). Several possible paint losses visible to the 'Sunlight Savon' sign, however these are hard to distinguish from the artist's application of paint. Scattered lines of craquelure visible, with one or two spots of paint lifting. There is surface dirt visible and the varnish has yellowed.



Examination under Ultra-Violet light reveals some areas of retouching, mainly toward the margins. There is some uneven fluorescence elsewhere, due to the surface dirt and uneven varnish and paint layers, which obscures any further reading.