HENRI MANGUIN (1874-1949)
Nu sur un canapé
signed 'Manguin' (lower left)
oil on canvas
19 11/16 x 24 1/8 in (50 x 61.2 cm)
Painted in Lausanne in 1915
Footnotes:
Provenance
Dr. Hans Schuler Collection, Winterthur (acquired from the artist in January 1916).
Kunsthaus, Zurich (bequeathed to from the above in 1920).
Galerie Beyeler, Basel.
Private collection, Paris, by 1967.
Galerie de l'Elysée (Alex Maguy), Paris, no. 1299.
Teri and Bernard Solomon Collection, Los Angeles; their sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, Los Angeles, February 4, 1975, lot 309.
Private collection, US, by 1980.
(possibly) Ansley Graham, Los Angeles.
Michelman Fine Art Inc., New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in December 2003.

Literature
Exh. cat., Henri Manguin, Fauve Master (1905-1910), Los Angeles, 1974 (illustrated).
L. & C. Manguin & M.-C. Sainsaulieu, Henri Manguin, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Neuchâtel, 1980, no. 504 (illustrated p. 190).


In 1894, Henri Manguin enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts, in Gustave Moreau's workshop, where he met Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet, becoming close friends with both. Five years later, he married Jeanne Marie Carette, who would be the model of many of his paintings for over thirty years. They moved to a house on Rue Boursault in the seventeenth arrondisement of Paris; Manguin built a large studio in the garden, which was frequented by his former classmates Matisse and Marquet as well as the artists André Derain, Charles Camoin, and Jean Puy, becoming a crucible of Fauvism. Despite spending a significant period of time painting with Paul Signac in 1904 in Saint Tropez, Manguin did not adopt Pointillism but would remain faithful to the tenets of Fauvism for the rest of his life. In 1905, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants alongside Matisse, Marquet, Derain, Camoin, Puy, Otto Friesz, Raoul Dufy, Kees van Dongen, Jean Metzinger, and Maurice de Vlaminck. This would be a watershed moment for the Fauvist movement.

In the following years, Manguin befriended Henri-Edmond Cross and Félix Vallotton, and the latter put him in touch with important Swiss collectors. Manguin painted Nu sur un canapé in Lausanne in 1915. Hallmarks of his oeuvre define this jewel of a painting. Manguin's foremost muse Jeanne reclines nude on a sofa, her hair swept up and her back to the viewer. A painting on the wall above her depicts a nude figure lounging in a more exposed pose. Nu sur un canapé contracts upon itself, a highly intimate and enclosed scene. The bright and clashing patterns decorating the sofa, curtain, rug, tablecloth, and chair encroach into the central space of the composition which is focused on Jeanne. Manguin employs a rainbow of bold colors and tight cropping to suffuse Nu sur un canapé with vibrancy, warmth, and closeness.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ○
○ The 'Seller' has been guaranteed a minimum price for the 'Lot', either by 'Bonhams' or a third party. This may take the form of an irrevocable bid by a third party, who may make a financial gain on a successful 'Sale' or a financial loss if unsuccessful.

Light frame rubbing to all four edges. A small loss to the center leg of the table in the lower right quadrant and another very minute loss to the green pigment in the upper right corner. Light craquelure to the purple pigment at the lower left edge. Examination under Ultra-Violet light reveals: no apparent signs of retouching or inpainting. Subject to the foregoing, it is in our opinion that the work appears to be in excellent condition.