Provenance
Paul Guillaume, Paris [Kellerman 1996]. Etienne Vautheret, Lyon, by 1933 [Paris 1933]; sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 16, 1933, Collection Vautheret, lot 5 [Paris 1933]. Galerie Alfred Poyet, Paris, by 1938 or 1939¬ [this and the following according to survey from Theodore Schempp, 1975, copy in curatorial file]; sold to Theodore Schempp, Paris, late 1938 or early 1939; sold to Charles H. Worcester, Chicago, Sept. 23, 1939–1947 [sales receipt, copy in curatorial file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.
Accession Number
59867
Medium
Oil on cradled panel
Dimensions
37.8 × 55 cm (14 7/8 × 21 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
André Derain's "Landscape in Provence" (c. 1930) is an oil on cradled panel that represents his mature engagement with the landscape of southern France. By 1930 he had fully embraced the classical style. This landscape is composed with the care of a Poussin painting—every element placed with deliberation, the trees framing the view, the distant hills receding in carefully calibrated planes. The palette is restrained, dominated by earth tones, greens, and blues. The cradled panel provides a smooth surface allowing Derain to achieve the enamel-like finish he favored in his later work. This dates from the period when Derain was one of the most celebrated artists in France, admired for his synthesis of tradition and modernity, though his rejection of avant-garde radicalism had made him controversial among younger artists.
Cultural Impact
Derain's later landscapes represent a sophisticated engagement with the French classical landscape tradition from Poussin to Corot, asserting the continuing vitality of tradition in an age of avant-garde innovation.
Why It Matters
This painting shows Derain at the height of his classical period, transforming the familiar motifs of the Midi into a composition of timeless harmony and balance.
