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Sonia Delaunay

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13 JOHN STREET Bath BA1 2JL t: 01225 480406

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In her departure from the representation of natural forms and progression towards geometric abstraction, Delaunay was a pioneer of ‘Orphism’ (1910-13), a new form of ‘Cubism’. ‘Orphism’ aimed to move away from recognizable subject matter and to rely on form and colour alone to communicate meaning. The movement also aimed to express the ideals of ‘Simultanism’: representing an infinitude of connected states of being all existing at the same time to describe the modern urban condition.

Her reputation was established with a full-scale retrospective at the Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1967. She was the first living female artist to have a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre in 1964 and in 1975 she received the highest cultural accolade possible in France: the Légion d’honneur. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections including the Tate, London, the Louvre and Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Sonia Delaunay was at the forefront of cultural developments in Europe throughout the first half of the twentieth century. As a painter, print maker, textile and set designer, her work was groundbreaking.

Born in the Ukraine in 1885, Delaunay grew up in St Petersburg and studied at the academy of fine arts in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 1905 she moved to Paris, where she was based for the rest of her life. She met her husband, Robert Delaunay, in 1909, and they were to live and work together for more than thirty years. Their close circle in Paris included many talented people such as the poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Blaise Cendras, and later Tristan Tzara, André Breton, Hans Arp and Marc Chagall. During the Delaunays time together they shared an ambition to develop a visual language that moved away from natural forms and towards abstract compositions based around geometric forms and pure colour.

Rythme coloré

1942Gouache and watercolour on paperSigned S.Delaunay and dated 9 mars 194230.3 x 24.7 cm

Provenance: Nejad Collection

Exhibited: Zurich, Galerie Proarta, Robert et Sonia Delaunay, 1991-92, illustrated in colour in the catalogue.Milan, Galleria Ruggerini & Zonca, Arte Moderna and Contemporanea, 1992, no. 17 Barcelona, Galerie Barbié, Sonia & Robert Delaunay, 2006-07,Executed in Grasse on 9th March 1942

Cercles Vertsc. 1959 Gouache on paper Signed. Numbered verso 646 19 x 22 cm

IdôleLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 31/75 Image: 78 x 56 cmSheet: 95 x 70 cm

Grande IcôneLithograph in colours on velin d’Arches paper Signed in pencil and inscribed EA XV/XXV Image: 77 x 52.5 cm Sheet: 90 x 63 cm

TotemLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 24/75 Image: 65 x 49 cm

Composition noire et blancheLithograph Signed in pencil and numbered 67/75 65 x 49.2 cm

Affreux Jojo1969 Lithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 5/75 76.5 x 56.5 cm

Composition OrphiqueLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 3/100 Image: 66 x 50.5 cm

Nocturne MatinaleLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 11/75 Image: 72 x 66 cm

CathédraleLithograph in colours on wove Arches paper Signed in pencil and inscribed E.A. (aside an edition of 75) Image: 60 x 45 cm Sheet: 76 x 56 cm Printed by: Atelier Mourlot, Paris

ScottishLithograph in colours on Arches paper Signed in pencil and numbered HC V/XV (aside an edition of 75) Image: 57 x 43.5 cm Sheet:76 x 55.5 cmPublished by: Jacques Damase, Paris Edition 75

Untitled (From Big Gallery)1964 Lithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 5/100 Image: 40 x 38 cmSheet: 65 x 50 cm

Carré Noirc. 1970 Lithograph in colours on BFK paper Signed in pencil and numbered 9/100 Image: 54 x 38.6 cm Sheet: 65.5 x 50 cm

Rectangle Rouge1971 Lithograph in colours on Arches paper Signed in pencil and inscribed ‘H.C. VI’ (Aside an edition of 75) Image: 57 x 44.5 cm Sheet: 76.5 x 56.5 cm

Untitled 1969 Etching in colours Signed and dated in pencil and numbered 30/100 Plate: 54.5 x 42 cm Sheet: 77 x 57 cm Printed by: Edition Lacourière, Paris

Untitled (From Avec moi-même)1970 Etching with aquatint Signed and dated in pencil and numbered 23/75 Plate: 49.5 x 40.5 cm Sheet: 66 x 50 cm Published by: Editions Société Internationale d’Art XXe Siècle, Paris

Grand carreau rougeLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and inscribed H.C. 10 Image: 75.5 x 55 cm Sheet: 91 x 63.3 cm

Thunderbird1973 Lithograph in colours on wove paper Signed and dated in pencil and numbered 62/75 Image: 52.5 x 42 cm Sheet: 75.5 x 56 cm

Poésie de mots, poésie de couleurs, n.VI1961 Coulor pochoir with gouache Signed and dated in pencil ‘Sonia Delaunay 61’ 65 x 50 cm Published by: Galerie Denise René

Grande CompositionLithograph printed in colours Signed in pencil dated ‘71 and numbered 16/75 Image: 76 x 52 cm Sheet: 90.5 x 64 cm

Lamelles (soleil noir)c.1970 Lithograph in colours on Arches paper Signed in pencil and inscribed E.A. and numbered X/XXV Image: 49 x 46 cm

PlougastelLithograph in colours Signed in pencil and numbered 30/75 Image: 50 x 61 cmSheet: 76 x 56 cm

ScottishLithograph in colours on Arches paperSigned in pencil and numbered 7/125Image: 47.6 x 70 cmSheet: 55.4 x 75.3 cm

Guépard1970Lithograph in coloursSigned in pencil and numbered 12/75Image: 42 x 49 cmSheet: 76 x 51 cm

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