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415
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TOBEEN – Felix BONNET (1880–1938)
See original version (French)
415
-
TOBEEN – Felix BONNET (1880–1938)
See original version (French)
Estimate €30,000 - €40,000
Voluntary lot
Description
TOBEEN – Felix BONNET (1880–1938)
Picardy Road
Oil on canvas, signed lower right, before 1929.
Signed and titled on the reverse of the stretcher, with the address “3, place du Petit-Marché / St Valéry s/ Somme” and the number T-4680.
46 x 55 cm
(Original canvas, framed)
Exhibition: Salon d’Automne, Paris, 3 November – 22 December 1929.
Provenance:
- Formerly in the collection of G.J. Nieuwenhuizen Segaar, Netherlands.
- Christie’s Amsterdam auction, 31 May 1994, lot 80.
Bibliography:
- Rosella HUBER-SPANIER, *To Be a Poet of Cubism*, published by 99 Publishers, 2012. Listed as number 12 in the catalogue raisonné.
- G. KAHN, *Le Mercure de France*, Salon d’Automne, 1 December 1929.
Exhibited at the 1929 Salon d’Automne, this oil on canvas by the artist does not depict a Basque subject. Nevertheless, it is no less significant in terms of the context in which it was created. Praised by the critic Gustave Kahn in his review for *Le Mercure de France*, this composition incorporates elements of modernity, which were the focus of attention in 1929.
Indeed, 1929 and that year’s Salon d’Automne saw the work of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand come to the attention of the general public through two major creations: the LC4 chaise longue (patented on 8 April 1929) and the presentation at the same Salon of the famous ‘Equipement d’habitation’, which would lay the foundations for modern and contemporary design. 1929 also saw the founding of the Union des Artistes Modernes (U.A.M.) and the breakaway of its founders from the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs (SAD), Art Nouveau and the affirmation of colour.
This context is essential to understanding our work. The painting technique and choice of colour palette are resolutely modern and faithful to the artist’s creations, who developed his pictorial language through his Basque landscapes. Movement, for its part, plays a significant role in his works from the late 1920s: the 1927 painting *La Nageuse*, which recently appeared on the public auction market, demonstrates this. The central focus of our composition lies in the rupture depicted in the lower left-hand corner. A motorcyclist races down the road at full speed past a peasant woman and her ox. This contrast between tradition and modernity is firmly rooted in the spirit of the times.
Through this depiction, the artist embraces the modernist ideologies developed by the U.A.M. and expresses, in his own way, this desire for a break with the past and a fascination with mechanics. The aesthetic of an internal combustion engine and the raw simplicity of its mechanics pierce the tranquillity of this Picardy road, symbolising a rupture between Basque rural life and the advancing modernity of northern France. The rustic, frontal architecture, depicted here in ochre tones – which is reminiscent of the colours used to depict La Rhune (Basque Coast Auction, 18 April 2026, lot no. 237) also contrasts with the new architecture of northern France and the realisation of the quintessential modern building: the Villa Cavrois, designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens in the same year.
One final detail: a figure in profile is depicted at a window in the centre of the composition. This figure appears to be a painter at his easel: a self-portrait?
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Lot description modified on 10/08/2026 at 9:52 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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