Paul Cézanne, Vue sur L’Estaque et Le Château d’If UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £13,522,500
A masterpiece by Paul Cézanne, Vue sur L’Estaque et Le Château d’If, will be a highlight at Christie’s Impresssionist and Modern Art evening sale in London on February 4. Estimated at £8-12 million it is on the market for the first time since it was acquired in 1936 by Samuel Courtauld, founder of the Courtauld Gallery and Institute of Art in London. The painting remained in Courtauld’s private collection throughout his lifetime. It was painted c1883-1885, during one of the last visits that Cézanne ever made to L’Estaque, a fishing port and small seaside resort in his native Provence, where he sought inspiration repeatedly from the mid-1860s. This is a rare example on a vertical canvas of Cézanne’s treatment of this iconic motif.
Jay Vincze, International Director and Head of The Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Christie’s London said: “The exceptional quality, rarity and freshness of Vue sur L’Estaque et Le Château d’If provides collectors and institutions around the world with a once in a generation opportunity to secure an important and very beautiful masterpiece landscape by Cézanne. Acquired in 1936 by one of the 20th century’s greatest connoisseurs, the inspirational patron of the arts and generous philanthropist Samuel Courtauld, the provenance of this outstanding painting is exemplary. His legacy through the Courtauld Gallery and Institute continues to enrich and inform contemporary culture today and his early recognition of Cézanne’s genius gave rise to the greatest public collection of the artist’s work in Britain. We expect this painting to create great excitement internationally, from discerning buyers – both new and established – across Asia and Russia to Europe and America.”