Victor Di Gesu

'Seated Nude' Paris, Louvre, Salon d'Automne, Académie Chaumière, LACMA, SFAA

Circa 1955

Stamped verso for estate of Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988) and painted circa 1955. A Post-Impressionist figural watercolor showing a young woman partially-clothed in evening w...

Stamped, verso, with estate stamp for Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988) and created circa 1950. Winner of the Prix Othon Friesz, Victor di Gesu first attended the Los Angeles Art...

Paul Delvaux 1897-1994 Belgian Study for “L’Acropole” Signed and dated "P.Delvaux 1965" (lower right) Watercolor, pen and ink on paper This preliminary drawing for Paul Delvaux’s greatest masterpiece L’Acropole, which resides today in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, features the artist’s most beloved subject — mystical scenes of nude women. A centrally-placed, stoic woman draped in a long green gown stands with her arms outstretched by her sides. She gazes at another idealized woman in the foreground, lying nude on a chaise lounge, while behind her, multitudes of other women in white dresses undertake a long procession towards a distant door. The captivating scene exudes the unique Surrealist style for which the artist has become known. With this skillful rendering of the surreal setting, Delvaux has mastered depicting nude women in a sensual yet non-erotic manner. The artist drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer, and blended them with his subconscious themes, which frequently included the nude female form. In combination with the loose concepts of form and perspective found in the 16th-century Mannerist paintings that Delvaux studied in Italy before World War II, his distinctive style served to create memorable dreamscapes without veering into lewdness. Like the very best Surrealist images, the work is both innovative and engaging. Paul Delvaux's earliest and most lasting influences in his art were the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer. After completing his initial artistic training at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Delvaux exhibited with Surrealists Dalí...

Nu Assise by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Charcoal on paper 31.3 x 24.2 cm (12 ⅜ x 9 ½ inches) Signed lower right, L.Rodo This work of art is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed and dated by Lélia Pissarro. Artist biography: Ludovic-Rodolphe Pissarro, born in Paris in 1878, was Camille Pissarro’s fourth son. Encouraged by his father, he began drawing from nature at an early age. He was familiarly known as “Rodo” and generally signed his works "Ludovic-Rodo", or early on in his career simply "Rodo". The impact of Camille’s art and teaching on Rodo was considerable. His artistic production encompassed a wide range of media, including oil painting, tempera, watercolour, gouache, wood engraving, drawing and lithography. Rodo exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants over a forty-year period. In 1894, at the age of sixteen, Rodo published his first wood engravings in the anarchist journal, Le Père Peinard. When Camille left France for the safety of Belgium during the anarchist upheavals of the same year, Rodo joined him there. Rodo moved into his first studio in Montmartre with his brother Georges in 1898. Works of this early important period until just after the death of his father in 1903 were post-impressionist and clearly painted under the influence of his father. By 1904 living in Paris, he found the nightlife and the habitués of the cafes, theatres, circuses and cabarets compelling subjects for his work and changed dramatically the style of his painting, affiliating himself to the Fauve artists. Rodo became close to artists such as Kees Van Dongen, Maurice de Vlaminck and Raoul Dufy. In 1905 he participated in the first Fauve exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants. In 1907 he visited Van Dongen in Rotterdam and the two artists continued to paint together, something they often did in Paris. In 1914 he married, though he never had children. Later that year at the outbreak of the War Rodo moved to England. Over the next seven years he lived mainly in and around West London. He worked closely with his brother Lucien to establish in 1915 the Monarro Group, formed with the aim of exhibiting work by contemporary artists inspired by Impressionism. Many of the works produced by Rodo while he was in England were of London landmarks but, he was also interested in the urbanisation of West London. After 1921, when Rodo had already returned to France, he divided his time between Paris and Les Andelys in Normandy, living and working closely with his elder brother Georges Manzana. Despite his rich artistic heritage and his achievements as an artist, Rodo is perhaps best remembered for his contribution to art history. For ten years he researched and compiled a catalogue of his father’s paintings...