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Dimensions: 93 by 65.1cm.
36 5/8 by 25 5/8 in.
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Provenance: THE COLLECTION OF MADELEINE CASTAING FROM THE ESTATE OF MICHEL CASTAING
Marcellin and Madeleine Castaing, Paris (acquired from the artist)
Michel Castaing, Paris (son of the above)
Thence by descent to the present owners
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Exhibited: Paris, Orangerie des Tuileries, Soutine, 1973, no. 47
Milan, Galleria Bergamini, Chaim Soutine (1893-1943). I Dipinti della Collezione Castaing, 1987, no. 5, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Chartres, Musée de Chartres, Soutine, 1989, no. 53, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
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Literature: Marcellin Castaing and Jean Leymarie, Soutine, Paris and Lausanne, 1963, p. 32, mentioned; pl. XX, illustrated in colour
Pierre Courthion, Soutine. Peintre du déchirant, Lausanne, 1972, p. 274, fig. D (with incorrect illustration)
Maurice Tuchman, Esti Dunow and Klaus Perls, Chaim Soutine. Catalogue raisonné, Cologne, 1993, vol. I, p. 283, no. 149, illustrated in colour
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Notes: The medieval town of Vence in the hilltops near Nice attracted some of the leading artists of the early twentieth century, and it was here that Soutine painted a selection of scenic compositions between 1928 and 1929. The present work from 1929 belongs to a series paintings of a giant tree in the middle of a public square. In all of these pictures, the tree is the focal point of the composition, but the details with which the artist depicts the surrounding square vary in each version (figs. 1 & 2). In the present work, the tree dominates the scene, and the wild profusion of its branches eclipses the glow of the sun-drenched architecture in the background. It was precisely the quality of this intense light that had attracted the avant-garde artists, including Matisse and Chagall (fig. 3), to the south of France during the 1920s. Unlike these artists who placed the Mediterranean sunshine as the focal point in their landscapes, Soutine's tree series employs an alternative approach to celebrating the profound beauty of this region. To achieve a visual approximation of the intensity of the light, the artist relied on strong contrasts of darkness and shadow. The present work is a remarkable example of this technique, as the emphasis here is on the futility of the tree in blocking out the light as it reflects off the buildings and filters through the branches.
When Soutine painted this series, he set up his easel in an obscured corner of the square, as he disliked people watching him paint. It is alleged that he would ask André Daneyrolles, his frequent companion on his trips to Vence and the chauffeur of his dealer Zborowski, to park his car in the square to obstruct the view of any onlookers. But any hesitations that the artist may have felt are not expressed in these pictures. The resulting canvases depict the tree, surrounded by a protective iron fence, rising above the viewer in all of its majesty. According to Daneyrolles, the artist once remarked while painting: "This tree, it is like a cathedral" (quoted in Maïthé Vallès-Bled, Soutine (exhibition catalogue), Musée de Chartres, 1989, p. 250).
Although the location and the tree have not been identified, this composition is possibly a depiction of an enormous ash tree growing in the Place du Frêne, just outside of the Porte du Peyra, that is alleged to have been planted in 1538 to commemorate Pope Paul III's visit with François I. Regardless of its identity, the height of this tree is unusual for this region, and Soutine was attracted by the perspectival possibilities that its size had to offer. In this composition, the seated figure and smaller figure along the path on the left appear dramatically small. The pathway around the tree's base reinforces the shape of the surrounding fence and bench, creating concentric circles that extend to the edges of the canvas. It is as if the tree, by the sheer power of its size, is surrounded by a force-field of strength.
Soutine's pictures, known for their textural bravura and focus on the sensual beauty of objects, astounded his contemporaries. One of his admirers was Elie Faure, a physician, art historian and critic living in Bordeaux, whom Soutine visited while in Vence. Faure wrote a monograph on the artist in 1929 in which he extolled Soutine for the passion behind his paintings and the quasi-religious fervour that he felt they expressed. Faure's analysis of Soutine's work, although grippingly poetic in its descriptions, met with much controversy and ultimately alienated the artist from the author. Although his interpretations of these pictures are debatable, Faure provided a description of Soutine that captures accurately the intensity of his character: "If you see him in the street, in the pouring rain, with his fugitive look, his hat pulled down over his eyes, his beautiful, small, pale hands, this Kalmouk's face with his straight hair covering his forehead, you would feel as if you were watching unfold the drama of the Magi pushing towards the star [of Bethlehem] in search of rest" (quoted in Norman L. Kleeblatt and Kenneth E. Silver, An Expressionist in Paris, The Paintings of Chaim Soutine (exhibition catalogue), The Jewish Museum, New York, 1998-99, p. 34). Faure was not alone in his assessment of the artist's importance. For the Castaings the present work was certainly of great importance, as it was hung as a centre-piece of their dining room at Lèves. Whether painting portraits of the working class or depictions of local landmarks, Soutine was able to invest vernacular subjects with an expressive beauty that set him apart from the rest of the avant-garde.
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